Designate That
by Angie731
Summary: Max has been captured by Manticore, Logan doesn't even know she's still alive. It will take the digressions of an unlikely ally, and maybe a miracle or two, to get her out...(my own rendition of Designate This, ML...Ch 14 now up)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and all of its affiliations belong to Cameron/Eglee productions and Fox entertainment…who so wrongly chose to take it off the air…what were they thinking?

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Hey everybody, I know this has been done before, a million times over.  But I couldn't just let it go.  Writing now gives me ideas for other stories, so if I didn't write, I'd never get any other ideas…see where I'm goin?  Anyway, please review.  Doesn't take too long.  M/A people, there is no Alec bashing.  I don't believe in that kinda stuff.  So I'd appreciate it if no one gave me bad reviews based solely on the fact that this story is M/L.  That being said, onward with the story!

Chapter 1

The Hell Begins…

Lydecker snatched a patch of dark hair, and pulled the girl's head in his direction.  Her eyes had glazed over long ago.  He wondered if she could even hear him anymore.

"Listen to me 452," he began in a low voice.  "We know you know where Eyes Only is.  Tell us, and this will all be over."  She didn't respond.  Lydecker stepped back and nodded softly to one of the soldiers, who stepped forward, and rammed the back of his rifle into her abdomen.  She groaned, attempting to double over in pain, but the shackles cutting into her wrists prevented her from doing so.

The colonel held out his hand to stop the soldier, and approached her, tilting her head towards him.

"Ready to talk?"

She finally brought her eyes up to look him in the face.  "Go to hell," she whispered hoarsely, before summoning all her strength and spitting in his face.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw what might have been a tear in the corner of her eyes, but as quickly as it had come, it receded, and once again, her eyes retained the glazed look.

He sighed, wiping his face with a cloth from his pocket.  "Let's go.  We aren't getting anything out of her today.  We'll try again tomorrow."  He dismissed the two men in fatigues who stood before him, and then left the cell, stopping to turn and look at her for a moment.

"Hang in there, Max," he whispered in a barely audible voice, knowing that she would be able to hear.  "I'll get you out, I promise."  With that, he closed the door softly, and stood with his back to it.

************************************************************************

Logan stood at the window, staring out at the city below him.  Soft rain pelted the glass.  Everyday, he stood there, watching, waiting…he wasn't sure what it was exactly that he was waiting for, but he knew it was coming soon.

A short while ago, in his quest to take down Manticore, he had come across a geneticist who had left Manticore when the labs blew.  A nice young doctor, whom he had trouble believing had anything to do with Manticore.  He was lucky to have found her at all; she was on the run.  He set her up with some money, a new ID, and guaranteed her safety into Canada, and she in return had gotten her hands on new nanotechnology from a friend of hers that she kept close contact with.  After being confined to a wheelchair for a little over a year, it had taken only a day for the nanocytes to reconstruct his damaged spinal cord.  So he was up and walking again.  He had to admit, he was glad for that.

His thoughts drifted to Max.  It had been two months, one week, six days, five hours and seven minutes since he had last held her, but who was counting?  Every time he thought of her, his heart ripped in two.  Regrets that used to be in the back of his mind, now stood out in front, incessantly scolding him for chances missed and time wasted.

He remembered everything about her.  Her smile…sometimes a smirk, sometimes soft and barely there, but always sweet and genuine.  It was in rare times like those that his heart skipped a beat.  Her eyes…those beautiful chocolate browns, sometimes bright and happy, sometimes dark and mysterious, but always full of life.  He was lost instantly when he looked into them, and every thought in his head was immediately overtaken by her.  Her smell…sometimes like cherries and cream, sometimes like the peach shampoo he had bought her for Christmas, but always intoxicating.  In the recent months before her death, she had started leaving stuff at his place.  She had two drawers of clothes in his room, for those occasions that it was too late to go home, and she would crash in his guest room.  At times, Logan found himself pulling out one of her shirts, just to breathe in her scent; or to try to remember the last time he had seen her wearing it.

Logan had thought that his life was over and done with when Sam told him that he would never walk again, but he had been proven very wrong.  Losing Max was worse, far worse.  His palm rose to the window, as his thoughts drifted back to the rain…it was as if the sky was crying.  And though he had no tears left, in his heart, Logan cried too.

************************************************************************

Lydecker paced in front of the small cell door in the corner of the basement at Manticore.  

He looked up as he heard footsteps in the distance, and the short-haired, blonde woman approached him with an air of superiority.

"Making any progress?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

Lydecker drew a sharp breath.  "Like I told you from the beginning, this is no easy task.  It takes time."

"I've given you six and half weeks.  This is what you trained them for, Deck," she spat at him.  "To stand and spit in the face of opposition; to resist against torture; to guard their secrets with their lives.  452 knows where Eyes Only is, that's her secret.  No amount of physical exploitation or psychoactive drugs is going to get it out of her.  You know as well as I do, that your kids would die before giving up a secret.  You taught them to be that way.  So if you have to nearly kill her to get it out, do it.  You have the key to the secret, Deck.  Unlock it, or the Committee won't be the only ones that have your ass."  She shot daggers at him with her eyes, before turning on her heel, and striding off down the hall.  The sounds of her pumps clicking against the floor echoed off the stone walls.

The older man looked after her.  His hate for her was a flaring passion, burning its way through his very being.  He had come to the conclusion a long time ago that Manticore needed to be taken down.  What had once been a voyage to a vision was now a pathway to perversion.  Lydecker had worked too hard and too long making Manticore into what it was, and he would be damned if he was going to let that dictatorial bitch take it over and lead it straight to hell.  Even if that meant destroying the whole program from the inside out.

He turned for a moment to look through the small barred window in the steel door.  The girl stood, well hung really, in the middle of the cell.  Her wrists suspended from the ceiling by wrought iron chains, her head hung low, her hair a tangled mess, and her clothes tattered and torn.  The Colonel could only silently reprimand himself…_My God, what have I done?_

************************************************************************

Max's wrists were killing her.  They had hung her from iron chains dangling from the ceiling.  And she was pretty sure that one of them was dislocated form her constant attempts to break free.  Her feet barely skimmed the floor, which caused her to sway a little, putting more and more weight on the bands around her joints.

Manticore had finally gotten its hands on her.  Worse even, they knew she knew who Eyes Only was, and for some reason, they wanted the information from her.  As far as Max knew, Eyes Only had never caused any real trouble for Manticore.  Except for the time after Zack's escape when he warned her siblings about their exposure, Logan had never really done any hacks on them.  And even that had been back when Lydecker was in charge.  Now that Renfro bitch was running the show.  He must have really become a pain in their ass lately for them to want him this badly. And if she ever got out, she was going to make sure she gave him Hell and high water for it.

She knew something was up when Lydecker walked into her cell.  Back then, they had started with psychoactive drugs.  Max remembered flinching at the long needles that they forced into her veins.  She also remembered floaty feelings…almost dreamlike…Logan was there.  They were dancing, or having dinner, or just sitting and talking.  But eventually, the topic always turned to Eyes Only.  Logan began to ask her questions about him.  Who was he?  Where did he live?  Was she close to him?  Max had always wanted to answer him.  She never wanted to deny him anything ever again.  But a small rational voice in the back of her head reminded her that Logan _was_ Eyes Only.  He wouldn't be asking her questions about him.  It was then that she realized that Manticore was behind it all.  When they realized that they weren't going to get anything out of her, even by psychological means, they had turned to physical torture.

She didn't know how long she had been hanging there.  Days?  Weeks?  The stiffness in her arms had become nearly unbearable, and at times, she wanted to give in and just tell them everything they wanted to know.  But then she thought about Logan…

Logan, the man who had turned her life around.  He had shown her what it truly was to be human, and helped her become one in the process.  Even as she hung there, in deep physical and mental pain, she remembered everything about him.  His smile…sometimes forced, sometimes sexy and inviting, but always broad and charming.  All he had to do was shoot one her way, and she was instantly weak in the knees.  His eyes…those gorgeous baby blues, sometimes vivid and charismatic, sometimes torn and lost, but always brilliantly shining.  If eyes were windows to the soul, then Logan's was some huge labyrinth, because Max was both dazzled and entranced every time she looked into them.  His scent…sometimes like the rain clean detergent he used, sometimes like the cinnamon aftershave she'd bought him for Christmas, but always breath-taking.  Every now and then, though he didn't know it, Max would sneak into his home when he wasn't there.  Then she'd sit on his bed, holding his pillow, breathing in deeply, simply to be lost in his smell, remembering everything they had been through.  She also liked wearing his clothes when she got out of the shower.  She'd give anything for one of his over-sized t-shirts right now…

Max had thought that her entire existence had come to a screeching halt when that bullet shattered her right ventricle, but she was proven very wrong.  Not being with Logan was worse, far worse.  She swore that if she ever got out of this hellhole, things would be different.  She thought back to the day they had almost gotten somewhere, before Zack had interrupted them, and this whole nightmare had begun.  She chided herself for not having given in, and gotten that last kiss, for not having over-talked him, and said all she wanted to say.  If she had, maybe now, she wouldn't feel so lost.  She wondered briefly what he was doing right then.  Knowing him, he was probably sitting in his chair, staring out the window…and with Seattle's record, it was probably raining.  Rain…although she would be the last to admit it, Max missed the rain.  It was only when the small freedoms were taken away do people really began to count their blessings.  Max hadn't been outside since she had gotten there.  Rain…at times, it made everything seem fresher, newer.  At other times, it was dark and dreary, almost as if the heavens were crying.  And though she wouldn't allow herself the tears to do it, in her heart, Max cried too.

************************************************************************

A/N2: Ok, there's the start.  I know, the idea's been done, but my muse wouldn't let this one go.  So we'll see where it goes.  Reviews…maybe, possibly?


	2. Chapter 2: Pleasant Dreams

Disclaimer: Every chapter I say the same thing.  It gets boring and repetitive, and personally, it's depressing.  Look to Chapter 1.

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N:  Wow, thanks everybody for the great reviews!  You guys rock.  Sorry I haven't written in so long, busy with school, and work…and life.  You know how it is.  But I promise I won't give up on this.  I'm gonna squeeze the muse for all she's worth, so don't fret.  Here's the next installment.

Chapter 2

Pleasant Dreams

Early the next morning, Logan headed into his kitchen for a cup of coffee.  It was difficult being around his apartment.  Everything reminded him of Max.  The bitterly cold liquid burned his throat as tears stung the back of his eyes.  _I used to make breakfast for Max when she stayed over after doing some legwork for me.  Cinnamon buns were her favorite…with icing on top, and a cold cup of milk…She always pretended like it didn't faze her, but I saw that instantaneous look on her face when she realized what I had in store for her…_Logan stopped himself.  They said there were several stages that a person goes through after the death of a loved one: disbelief, anger, grief, and later acceptance.  Logan had been through them enough times to know them back and forth.  First his mother, then his father, and now this.  He also knew from experience that it was different every time.  Sometimes, it didn't take as long to get over…maybe it depended on the person, he didn't know.  But what he was sure of, was that no stage was equal to another.  Losing his mother first, disbelief was the longest stage for him, grief coming in a close second.  Losing his father, anger of course had been the longest.  How could his father leave him all alone, when they had both just lost his mother?  Now, it seemed that grief was pulling ahead, in spades.  So much so, that he didn't know if he would ever reach acceptance.

He left the kitchen on his way to the computer, but was halted in his steps by the ring of the phone.  His heart leapt for a split second, when he thought it might be Max, but then he remembered.  She wasn't going to be calling anymore.  Sighing deeply, he removed the phone from his cradle, and slowly put it to his ear.

"Hello?"  His voice was monotonous, betraying none of his just passed emotions.

"Hey Boo, what up?"  Original Cindy's voice came through strong and clear, though Logan knew she was going through just as much pain as he was.

"Hey Cindy," he responded.  "Long time no talk."

"I know," she answered in a low voice.  "I've been kinda busy.  You know how it is."

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Anyway, I got to thinkin bout my Boo today…and well, that led me to thinkin bout you."

"Really?" Logan asked curiously.  "As in…"

"As in, my Boo used to rave about what a good cook you were, and Original Cindy decided that maybe she might like to find out for herself.  So, can I come over for lunch?"

Logan had to give a short laugh in spite of himself.  "Sure.  Misery loves company, come on over, I'll whip something up."

"Good lookin'.  Lunch break's 12:30?"

"Ok, see ya then." Logan replaced the phone, and continued over to his computer.  He sat down, and glanced at the frame next to it.  It held a picture of Max and Cindy having a beer, smiling at the camera at Crash.  Cindy had given it to him after he had told her that Max wasn't coming back.  For a while, it had been too painful to even look at.  But eventually, Logan reached the point where he found himself pulling it out of his top desk drawer to stare at it.  Now he looked at it every chance he got.  It wasn't like he needed a reminder of what she looked like; he couldn't forget her face, even if he tried.  It haunted his dreams at night.  But it was reassuring to see a smile on her face.

Logan turned back to the computer.  He knew that if he drew himself back into that world of heartache and despair, it would be hours, maybe even days before he could pull himself out again.  And he really couldn't afford to waste any time today.  He had a job to do.  Manticore was going down.

************************************************************************

Renfro sat staring at her desktop computer.  She didn't know much about computers, but she knew enough to know when they were giving her a problem.  She reached over and picked up her phone without taking her eyes off the screen.  Her finger found the familiar buttons, and a deep voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Renfro," she stated, "I'm having issues opening the file you sent me.  What's wrong with it?"

"There's nothing wrong with it," he answered somberly.  "You just don't know how to work a pc."

"Look, you little…" she stopped herself, before she said something she knew she would regret.  "My computer is saying that the file is unreadable.  Send it to me again."

"Why?"

"Because I need this file.  Lydecker is getting nowhere with 452, and personally, I'm starting to think either the little freak doesn't know anything, or Deck's lying to me.  Neither of which would surprise me very much."

"She knows," the voice answered surely.  "She's just not talking."

"How can I get her to talk?"

"There are ways.  Other ways than physical torture."

"Like what?"

"Alter her reality."

"We already tried that.  The psychoactives weren't working, she figured it out, and clammed up."

"Try again!" the voice insisted.

Renfro sighed.  She was getting tired of these egotistical bastards running the show downtown.

"And do what?"

"Instead of trying to coax it out of her, force it out of her.  In her subconscious, there is no escape.  Given her weakened state, it surely won't take long before she tells you everything you want to know.  And when she does, I want to be the first person who is notified."

"Of course," Renfro nodded.

"Do it quickly!  Call when it's finished."  A click was heard, and then silence.  Renfro slammed the phone down.

"Call when it's finished?" she asked in a mockery tone.  "You'll find out."  She turned back to concentrate on her computer.

************************************************************************

Lydecker stood outside the door, listening intently to every word of the phone call.  _Damn it…I was trying to wait to move Max, but at this rate, she'll be dead within the week if I don't._  He turned and headed off down the hall, turning the corner before pulling out his walkie talkie.

"Lydecker to Alpha Team 1."  A second of static was heard before the reply.

"Alpha Team 1.  Over."

Lydecker sighed.  "I need two men posted outside the director's office ASAP.  They are to be there at all times.  If she sneezes, I want to know about it."

"Copy that," came the voice over the radio.

Lydecker clipped the little radio to his belt, and continued down the hallway, taking the flight of stairs at the end of the hall.  Upon reaching the upper floor, he headed into his makeshift office.  The office was littered with papers and folders.  His desk chair was pulled away from his desk, and the bottom left drawer had been left open.  The trash can overflowed with paper balls.  Lydecker had never been a 'neat freak', but he always considered himself structured.  This was his organized chaos.  He swore he knew where everything was.  This was what his life had been reduced to…if only he had known what was to be when he had first started Manticore.  Sure he had his reasons, but as he had heard many times 'The road to perdition is paved with good intentions'.  He was tired of this.  He wanted out, and with any luck, he would be out, soon.

He sat down at his desk and switched on his computer.  He had a couple of people he needed to get in contact with before his plan could be put into action.  He knew time was of the essence here, and only hoped everything went as planned.

************************************************************************

Drip…drip…drip.  _Damn leaky pipes…_Max wished they'd send someone to fix the cursed thing.  Hell, she wished they'd send someone to get her out.  But she knew that wasn't about to happen.  Save for Lydecker, no one on the outside even knew she was alive.  She could've sworn the last time he left her cell that he promised to get her out.  But the bastard had been there from day one, torturing her mercilessly.  No, it was just the psychoactives still left in her brain.  No one was coming for her.  Her head hurt, and for some reason, she was very sleepy.  She tried not to let the fatigue overtake her, knowing she would slip into unconsciousness.

They wanted to know about Logan…but she wasn't going to tell them.  She'd die before she let that happen.  _Maybe I could make myself forget…_The thought had crossed her mind before.  But no, if she made herself forget, she'd have nothing to hold on to, and they'd reindoctrinate her for sure.  _But at least __Logan__ would be safe…_It had only taken her minutes to overthrow that idea.  Manticore was nothing if not persistent.  They would keep digging, and digging and digging, until they found out who Eyes Only was, and when they got rid of him, it wouldn't be pretty.  At least for now, she could keep an eye on how things were progressing.  There had to be another way.

The door opened widely, letting in a large beam of light.  Max squinted at the sudden luminescence.  Two soldiers came in, and roughly pulled at the chains, releasing her wrists.  As soon as her feet hit the floor, she crumpled to a helpless heap.  The soldiers, outwardly taking no notice of how weak she was, each grabbed an arm, and dragged her from the cell.  _Great,_ she thought to herself, _what now?_  It was the last coherent thought she had before she slipped into unconsciousness.

************************************************************************

Renfro smiled as the soldiers in uniform dragged the limp body to the chair, and bolted it down, before tilting it back.  They then took up position by the door, waiting for her command.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" came a voice from behind her.

She whirled on the young man who stood in a white knee length coat before her.

"Just do as I say!" she spat at him.  "You don't get paid to think."  She approached the woman in the chair, pulled a little vial out of her pocket, and began to wave it in front of her face.  "Wakey, wakey 452," she smiled evilly.

Max inhaled sharply at the pungent odor before turning her head away as her eyes fluttered open.  She glared at the petite woman facing her.

"That's more like it."  Renfro pulled a couple cords from the machine behind her, and taped them to Max's arm.  "Ok 452, I know you're not exactly lucid right now, so I'm going to make this very easy for you.  This is a polygraph test.  There's only one rule: if you lie or refuse to answer, you get shocked.  Now, we'll start out simple.  State your designation."

"My name's Max!" Max hissed through clenched teeth.  Seconds passed before the jolt took hold of her, shaking the entire chair.  Max gripped at her bindings as the electric current flowed through her body, making it impossible to even think.  It seemed to go on forever, and Max found herself almost yelling out in pain, but she refused to let Manticore know she'd just about reached her limits.  Finally, it stopped.  She sank back in relief.

Renfro turned to the doctor.  "Crank it up."  The doctor turned uncertainly to the machine, and shifted it up a notch.  "I said crank it up!" Renfro reached angrily over him, and turned the knob up four more notches.  She turned back to Max.  "Listen up, and listen up good.  You're not going to last much longer.  But you're expendable.  I will find out who Eyes Only is, with or without your help.  However, I'd rather you did help, and for his sake, you should.  I might be a little more inclined to spare his life if you do."

Max listened intently to her words.  She looked up into the woman's cold, calculating eyes, knowing any promises she made her were nothing more than pitiful lies.  "Kiss my ass.  You'll never catch him."  This time, not even a second passed before the electrifying pain pierced every one of her nerves, ten times worse than the last.  Max felt as though every cell in her body would explode in pain.  She opened her mouth to let out a bloodcurling scream, and then gratefully descended into unconsciousness once again.

Renfro looked down at her, seemingly annoyed, and then turned to the doctor, who looked petrified.

"Well?" she asked.

He inched past her, and put a finger to her pulse.  "She-she's not dead, just unconscious.  But I think it's going to take a little more than smelling salts to bring her out of it this time."

Renfro sighed angrily.  "Fine.  Call me the minute something changes."

"Y-yes, ma'am."

She turned and left, slamming the door behind her.

************************************************************************

Max was back in the cell.  She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.  For some reason, she was unable to move her limbs.  The door opened, and someone walked in.

"Max?"  The voice was soft, but she'd recognize it anywhere.

"Ben?"  The small boy came and stood beside the bed.  He was just as she remembered him before they'd escaped out into the cold, cruel world.  Before the risks and dangers of the outside had turned him into a sociopath.  He took one of her hands in his.

"Maxie, why don't you just tell them?"

She groaned.  "I can't."

"Yes you can," he said in a small voice.  "They're hurting you.  They're going to kill you if you don't."

"No," she whispered.

"Yes.  You have to."

"I won't.  They'll kill him."

"If you don't, they'll kill you."  He brought his hand up to her forehead.  It seemed cool and soft against the raging fire that had begun to heat her skin.  "Tell them, Maxie.  Tell them, and it will all be over."  He let go of her hand, and began to back away.

"Ben?" she whispered.  "Don't leave me.  Please…where are you going?"  He continued to back away, until he melted into the darkness.  Suddenly, Max was able to move.  She shot up out of the bed, but what she saw in front of her made her stop cold.

Logan was seated in a chair.  His head hung low.  From what she could see of his face, he looked tired and worn out.  His hair was longer too.  Max longed for nothing more than to go to him, to hug him, to kiss him, to tell him that she loved him, and she never wanted to be away from him again.  But every time she stepped near him, it seemed as though she was pulled farther away.  Around him were two soldiers.  In front of him, was Renfro.

Renfro walked up to Max, who pulled her arm back to take a swing, and was surprised to find that her wrists had somehow been chained to the wall.

"Tell me 452.  Tell me now, or he dies."

Logan lifted his head and looked at Max.  "Don't tell them Max," he whispered.  "Save yourself.  Get away…don't tell them."  One of the soldiers aside him raised the butt of his gun, and slammed it into the side of Logan's face.  Logan looked up at Max, as a small red, rivulet of blood made its way down his chin.

Max looked Renfro in the eye, and held her icy glare.

The older woman refused to waver under the gaze.  "Do it," she ordered the soldiers.  They raised their weapons, and began to beat on the man tied to the chair.  Max looked over to them.

"No!" They continued to beat on him as though they had not heard her.  Max pulled at her chains, but to no avail.  She was too weak to do anything but sit and view.  "Stop it!" she screamed at them.  She could barely stand to watch, as with each blow, he grew farther and farther away from her.  "Ok!" she finally yelled.  The director signaled for them to stop.  "Ok," Max said in a small, broken voice.  "I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Renfro cocked an eyebrow, and smiled malevolently at her.

************************************************************************

The young doctor watched as the wicked witch before him smiled down at the young girl, still tied to the chair.  He had called her as soon as the girl had begun to mumble in her cataleptic state.

The door flew open, and in walked Lydecker.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded.

The doctor shrank back in fear, as he watched the new director and the former director at ends.

"Getting results," Renfro sneered at him.  "Which is more than I can say for you."

"You aren't going to get anything out of her," he scoffed back.  "It'll be a cold day in hell before she gives us anything."

Renfro turned her attention back to the transgenic bound to the chair.  "Well the poor souls downstairs better strap on their skies, because it looks as though she's being a little more cooperative."

They both stared down at Max's beaten, broken body.

"Ok," she whispered, lifelessly as her head rolled from side to side.  "I'll tell…I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

************************************************************************

"Logan!  Logan!"  Logan could hear the voice from some faraway place, but he didn't want to register it.  He only wanted to get back to Max, to tell her to fight.  But he felt a hand on his shoulder.  "Logan!"

Logan pulled himself off the flat surface of his desk.  He looked up into the concerned eyes of Original Cindy.  And then looked over at the digital clock by his computer.  It read 12:43.  _Damn, I must've fell asleep.  I can't believe I did that!  I really needed those hours._

Cindy eyed him closely.  "Are you ok, Boo?"

"Yeah," he muttered, trying to smooth his hair, which disobediently stood at attention in every direction.

"You left your door unlocked, so I just thought I'd—" Cindy stopped midsentence.

Logan looked at her carefully.  "What?"

"What happened?" she asked curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"Your lip, Boo.  What happened?"

Logan reached up to touch the side of his lip.  He pulled his hand away, and was surprised to find a smear of red on his fingers.  His eyes widened as he stared at it intently, before turning to Max's best friend.

Cindy knitted her eyebrows, both expectant for an answer, and confused as to what she saw before her.  "What?"

Logan looked away.  "I think…I think Max is still alive."

************************************************************************

Post:  So there it is, hope you guys liked it.  Can't exactly say when the next chapter will be up.  Lots of things to do, and I don't want to tell you that it'll be up in a few days, and then not be able to keep my promise, so…just don't give up on me.  It'll be up.  Thanks

Personals to the reviews:

huntress k: I love DT fics too.  It's great to see where everyone gives an idea of what they would have done with season two.  I'll definitely keep writing, and updating.  Thanks.

Idlehands452: Thanks a lot! I know what you mean about the re-writes…but that's too old-fashioned, need my own ideas.  Don't worry, I don't want to give away spoilers or anything, but so far, I have no plans for that microscopic troublemaker, so we'll see how it goes.

RoxyAnn: Thanks for the review.  I'm glad you like the story.  I try not to think about the reviews, it's just good to have that little boost, keeps me on my toes.  I know exactly what you mean about waiting to make sure I'll continue.  There's nothing more disappointing than starting to read a great story, and then getting to a crucial part in the story, only to find that the author just let it drop.  But don't worry, I couldn't do that to all my readers.

KingfisherFeline: Thanks for the great review!  Lydecker is definitely here to stay…for now.

Kyre: Just want to tell you, I've read your stuff, you're a great writer.  Thanks for reviewing.  I know what you mean about the instant paralysis. I wanted to make mine drawn out, but the muse had other ideas.  She just wanted to get Logan back on his feet.  He'll need them later on in the story.  Thanks again!

Rsf: Thanks for the great review.  Yes, we do need all the M/L stories we can get.  I've noticed our dwindling numbers…but we'll stay strong with the struggle!  M/L shippers of the world unite!

Agmgdafan: Thanks a lot for the review.  I'll definitely keep going.

Bibbiddy_boo: Hey, thanks for the awesome review!  Deck is definitely in action, and I'm gonna let you guys know soon, exactly how he got back, and why he's here, but he's playing a pretty crucial role right now, so we'll see how it goes.  I will definitely continue with this story.  If I ever need any help, you'll be the first person I go to…which may actually happen if my muse keeps moving so slowly…Thanks

Black Rose9: Thanks for the great review!  Glad you like the story.  I can't wait to see what happens either (but shh, that's our little secret)

Vanessa: Thanks for the cool review!  I'll definitely continue.

Misty7: LOL, thanks for the great review!  I know what you mean.  I tried getting inside her head to see what she would be thinking if she were separated from him…and yeah, I'm sure she had other thoughts that were equally as inappropriate ;-)  I'll keep going.

Sombody's Angel: Thanks for the great review!  I know the pain of love lost and forlorn all too well, so I'm not gonna say it was easy, but I'm glad my hard work paid off.  I was actually thinking of Deck and his outside help (because he's gonna need it).  So we'll see how it goes.

Keep it real everybody.

Angie731


	3. Chapter 3: The Search is On

Disclaimer: I don't own them.  Sue if you like, I have $7.32 and an ace wrap bandage for my sprained wrist.  You can have the $7.32, but I'll fight tooth and nail for the wrap.

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Hey everyone, just want to thank you all first for the wonderful reviews, they're a great inspiration, and second for being so patient with me.  I only have 2 weeks of school left, including finals, and it's been hectic with papers and last minute exams and I'm sure you all know how that goes, and with the sprained wrist already slowing me down, I've moved even slower.  This chapter is short, which I know really isn't fair to you guys, seeing as how you've been waiting for two weeks, but I didn't want to make you wait any longer.  I promise the next chapter will be up by next Friday, and it will be longer.

Chapter 3

The Search is On

Lydecker looked down at the small, frail creature he had deemed worthy of the world at birth.  Had she really broken?  No…she couldn't have.  She was surely the strongest of the X5 group.  Her abilities surpassed the others in her unit years ago.  Lydecker settled himself to the fact that she must have been using Renfro's thirst for knowledge to her own tactical advantage…At least, he surely hoped that's what was going on.

Renfro stood wordlessly, waiting for the mutant before her to speak.  She knew every word was worth knowing.  Sometimes answers were hidden in the most unlikely spaces, and anything 452 gave her was of complete importance.

Max slipped back into the dark world she had come from.  She looked around, noticing that she was back in Logan's apartment.

"Logan!" she called, but there was no answer.  "Where are you?"  Her voice was floaty, and she wondered if he could even hear her.

Still no one answered.  She approached his computer room, maybe he was in there, obliviously typing on his keyboard as she had seen him do so many times before.  Unmindful of the rest of the world as he continued on his mission to save it.  She peeked in, but he wasn't there either.  _Where the hell is he?_  Suddenly, the front door closed, and he walked in, but stopped mid-step when he saw her.  And mouthed the very word she so loved to hear him say… "Max".

She turned and began to run to him.  At that time, she wanted nothing more than to just be held by him, to feel his arms around her, and hear him telling her that everything was going to be okay.  To feel his skin, to smell his scent, to look into his eyes.  It was only then that she would believe it.  But it seemed the closer she got, the farther away he got.  The walls around them melted away, and he held his hand out to her, reaching, grasping for her touch.  She reached out to him as well, and it seemed as though their fingertips were just within reach, when something pulled her back.

"No!" she gasped.  "Logan, save me.  Don't leave me."

"Don't tell them anything, Max," he warned her.  "I won't leave you."

"Promise?" she whispered, as he began to disappear.

"I promise," he whispered back, and then he was gone.

************************************************************************

Max opened her eyes to see the two people she hated most in the world standing over her expectantly.  She opened her mouth, but found it hard to speak.  When she finally found her voice, she looked at them in contempt.

"I'll never tell," she whispered through parched lips, and then descended back into her unknown world of shadows.

"Damn," Renfro sighed in frustration.  "I thought we had her."

Lydecker glanced at her, a slow smile on his face, part triumph, part relief.  He couldn't help the "I told you so" that escaped his mouth.

Renfro glared at him.  "Don't be juvenile, Deck.  This is partly your fault," she spat at him, before turning to the doctor.  "So what happens now?"

The doctor checked Max's vitals, and looked at his computer screen before typing in a few commands.  A screen popped up, showing her information and several comments.

He sighed before looking her in the eye, afraid of the anger he was sure his response would bring.  "Apparently, several of these catatonic states that 452 is slipping into are self-induced.  When this happens, the brain is in a state of delusion, and the body is inactive.  You won't be able to get any information out of her as long as she stays this way.  And anything that you do get may be misinformation caused by the hallucinations."

Renfro nearly growled at him.  "She's doing this on purpose, damn it!  How do we bring her out of it?"

"We can't," he squeaked shrinking back against the table.  "We can try giving her some dopaminergic antagonists to stop the delusions, but that won't pull her from the coma.  She has to come out of it on her own."  Renfro turned fuming, brushing past Lydecker, preparing to leave.  The lab tech paused before continuing.  "But that's not the worst of it."

She turned on her heel and glared at him.  "What?"

"These states of unconsciousness that she's slipping into aren't entirely healthy for the body.  There isn't enough brain activity, and the organs and systems throughout her body are shutting themselves down."

"Meaning?" she seethed.

The lab tech looked down at the fragile, broken figure stretched out on the reclining chair before him.  "Meaning…she's slowly killing herself."

************************************************************************

Lydecker's breath caught in his throat.  He began to wonder when he had grown feelings for his kids.  _Max is killing herself to keep from giving the identity of Eyes Only away…This is definitely a dent in my plan.  I've got to get her out of here…ASAP._

Renfro's glare tore through the lab tech.  "It doesn't matter.  I will get the identity of Eyes Only, even if I have to do it without her help…it'll just take longer."  She looked down at Max's bruised figure with disgust.  "Have her moved to the basement.  And when I give you the order…terminate."  She pulled the door open, and left, slamming it behind her.

Lydecker could only stand and watch as two uniformed officers entered and pulled Max from the chair, dragging her along the floor towards the basement.  He followed them out.

"Hey!" he called after them.  "Is that how you transport half a million dollars in US government research and development?"

The soldiers stopped and turned to face him, standing at attention and dropping Max to the ground.

"I'm sorry, sir?" one of them asked tentatively.

"Carry her," Lydecker said through clenched teeth.  "She's not a POW.  We need her alive, and if anything happens to her, and I think that it might in any way be your fault, you will answer to me!  Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they both chorused.

"Dismissed."

They saluted him, and one of the soldiers picked Max up, cradling her like a small child, as they began their descent to the basement.

Lydecker turned and headed to his office.  When he got there, he sat at his desk, and turned on his computer.  The screen flashed a bright blue, and as he began to type in a message to a familiar email address, he hoped he was doing the right thing.

************************************************************************

Logan pulled himself up out of his sleep.  He had dreamed of Max again.  Just before she had been pulled away from him, he had promised not to leave her.  She was alive, if he hadn't been sure of it before, he was sure of it now.

_(Flashback)_

Cindy looked down on him with a look that clearly said 'Boo, what are you smoking?'

"She's alive Cindy, I know it."

"Ok, hold up.  When you were finally coherent enough to talk in sentences with more than three words, you explained to me that Max had taken a lead from Mini Max."

" 'Taken a lead'?" Logan asked uncertainly.

"Caught one…taken a hit….got shot…" Cindy explained to him.

"Oh, yeah, she did."

"And then she died in your arms?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, so explain to Original Cindy how you know she's still alive.  Cuz this, she's got to hear."

"Look, I was dreaming about her…"

"Ok, stop right there.  Are you sure you wanna keep going with this?"

Logan gave her an exasperated look.  "Not that kind of dream.  Anyway, she was in this cell, and the guards were torturing me to get her to tell them who Eyes Only is."

OC's eyebrows knitted together.  "But Max doesn't know who he is…does she?"

Logan regarded her carefully.  They hadn't really spent a lot of time together since Max's death, but the knowledge that one was there for the other if they needed it went unspoken.  They were both suffering the same loss, and Logan felt as though he could trust her.  He looked her carefully in the eye.

"I'M Eyes Only."

She raised her eyebrows.  "For real?!  Damn…so hold up, all those 'missions' that Max goes on for you, those were for Eyes Only?"

"Yeah," he admitted ashamedly, "she was helping me out in exchange for some information on her brothers and sisters.  At least, that's how it started out."

Cindy nodded again.  "Still doesn't explain how you know she's alive."

Logan sighed.  "In the dream, one of the guards hit me in the mouth with the gun.  That's where the blood came from."

She looked at him skeptically.  "Uh, you do realize it was just a dream."

"Yeah, but it was so real.  Real enough that the blood was still there when I woke up.  Besides, it's not like that's the first dream Max and I have shared…at least, if my suspicions are correct."

"Ok, all this has warped around Original Cindy's brain.  But you've never been wrong about my Boo before, so I believe you when you say she's still alive.  Wherever she is, you get out there, and you find her."  Logan nodded, and she turned and headed toward his kitchen, taking a small Tupperware container from his refrigerator.  "I'm takin the leftovers since you ain't make me no real lunch."  She headed for the door.  "Bye, Moneybags."

"But I don't have any—" his statement was cut off by her slamming his door.  "—money anymore."  He sighed to himself, more inspired than he had been in the last six weeks as he began a search for Manticore's new location.

_(end Flashback)_

That must've been when he'd drifted back off to sleep and then had woken up from the other dream.  A loud dinging sound in his ear.  'You've Got Mail' was written in big letters across the bottom of his screen.  He clicked on the image of the letter, and the file opened before him.  His eyes widened as he scanned through its contents quickly, and rested on the familiar address before him.

"Lydecker," he whispered.

************************************************************************

Post: Ok, so yeah, it's short, but I had to get it out there.  Next chapter in a week.

Angie731

PS-I love my reviewers!


	4. Chapter 4: Help is on the Way

Disclaimer: If I have to say that I don't own them one more time…

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Hi people, thanks for the great reviews!  Here's the next chapter.  Not too much action, but there will be next chapter.  Read and review…remember, I write for you!

Chapter 4

Help is on the Way

Lydecker stood beside the phone waiting anxiously.  He looked through the windows of the phone booth, watching the rain run steadily down the glass panes.  Getting out of Manticore had proven to be worse than getting out of a gang after passing initiation.  The committee had attested that they didn't give a rat's ass if he had built Manticore from the ground up.  If they felt he was a threat to any of it, the tables would be turned on him with lightning speed.  They had turned his dream into a living nightmare, and now, he had to do everything in his power to make it right.

The phone rang loudly, jolting him from his reverie.  He reached out slowly, and took the receiver from its perch, placing it to his ear.

"Lydecker," he responded.

"Is this line secure?" the voice on the other end spoke.

"I went through several precautions to make sure it is.  Is there any reason for you not to trust me?"

The voice sighed.  "If I started to list them, we'd be here all night.  What do you have for me?"

Lydecker paused before giving his answer.  "Your girlfriend."

Logan nearly gasped, but he knew it would give him away.  Upon receiving information  that Lydecker had some interesting news for him, he agreed to speak with him in the hopes that it might be about Max.  It looked as though he had been right.  "What?"

"Manticore has 452.  She's—"

Logan cut him off.  "Max."

"I'm sorry?"

"Max," Logan insisted.  "Her name is Max."

"Fine, Manticore has _Max_.  She's still alive, but she's in bad shape, and she probably won't last much longer.  I had plans to get her out, but it looks like it's going to be harder than I originally thought.  Will you help me?"

Logan swallowed hard.  Having Max back would fulfill every wish he'd made in the past eight weeks.  But he knew Lydecker, and his tendency to pull the rug out from under people.  He didn't want any more nasty surprises.  He didn't want to get his hopes up, only to find out that Lydecker was involved in some scheme to bring Eyes Only into Manticore, and Max really was gone.  He wasn't sure he'd last another emotional breakdown.

"How do I know she's really alive?"

"She's alive.  I've seen her myself everyday for the past six weeks.  Look, I don't expect you to trust me; in fact, I'd be surprised if you did.  But we have to figure this out; the longer she's in Manticore's possession, the less likely chance we have of getting her out alive."

Logan was silent for a moment, taking in the seriousness of Deck's words.  "Ok," he finally decided.  "How are we going to do this?"

He could almost hear the smile in Lydecker's voice as he gave his response.  "First of all, we're going to need backup.  Like I said, this isn't going to be easy.  It took me a long time to get back in the committee's good graces, and I'm not even sure I'm there yet.  They've got me under watch like a hawk.  So I'm going to have to cut this call short.  I'll meet you tomorrow 17:00 hours at a café at the corner of East Main and Wicks.  If you show up at 17:01, I'll be gone, so I'd advise you not to be late."  He hung up, and turned to open the door of the phone booth.  The rain fell hard on him, but he merely ignored it as he approached the green hummer that stood about twenty feet away.  He climbed in and started the engine, before pulling off into the night.

************************************************************************

Logan sat staring at the phone in his hand, the dial tone ringing out loud and clear.  Finally, he placed it back on the receiver, before picking it back up.  He punched in the somewhat familiar number.  _Backup?_ he thought_.  I'm pretty sure I know where I can get some of that._  After three rings, a female voice appeared on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Logan…I need your help."

"Sure, anything."

"Manticore has Max, she's still alive, and we're breaking her out."  Logan heard what sounded like a loud clang, and a shout of voices, and then the phone was picked back up.  "Hello?" he asked tentatively.

"Sorry," the voice responded.  "I thought—it sounded like you just said 'Max is still alive and she's in Manticore'."

"I did…and she is.  We have to get her out, and we need your help."

"Wait a minute, who's we?"

"Me…and Lydecker."

"Lydecker?!"

"Yeah, I know.  But right now, he's the only one who knows exactly where she is, and how we can get to her, so we're going to have to work with him.  Doesn't mean we have to like it, just means we have to put up with him.  And we need all the help we can get."

The voice sighed.  "Ok, count us in.  We'll see you in a few hours."

Logan smiled.  "Thanks Syl.  Make sure Krit brings all your artillery."

"Sure thing," she smiled.  "See ya in a little while."  She promptly hung up, and Logan turned back to his computer, and began to pull up all the files that he had accumulated on Manticore and Lydecker since he started his search.  It took a while, but he was finally able to organize them and put them into a folder that he would reference while they were going over plans and strategies.  Now all he could do was sit back and wait.

************************************************************************

Syl pulled her bike up in front of the tall apartment building in what was considered to be one of the 'nicer' parts of the now rundown Seattle.  She looked up at the dark glass windows as Krit pulled up beside her.  As soon as Logan had mentioned Max's name, she had been ready to run to help.  She and Krit had both been deeply depressed over the past few months, believing that they had mutually been to blame for Max and Zack's capture.

Krit knocked his kickstand down, and walked over to Syl, who still sat staring up at the building, its high dark windows soaring over them like ominous warnings.

"Ok," he muttered, "Let's go get our sibs back."

Syl nodded, and dismounted her bike.  They headed inside toward the elevator.

"So did Logan say exactly how we're supposed to pull this off?  I mean, as I remember it, we had a hard enough time breaking into Manticore last time, and security must have been jumped up since then."

Syl shook her head.  "Not really.  He did say something about working with Lydecker though."

"Lydecker?!" Krit spat.  "If you had told me that before we got here, I never would've come."

"I know," she said smiling up at him.  "And I feel exactly the same way.  But this is our sister we're talking about.  It's our fault that she's in there, and if there's even a slight chance that we may be able to get her out, we need to take it."

Krit sighed and nodded, before pulling a long strand of her shoulder-length blonde hair out of her face.  "I can't imagine how Logan must be feeling right now.  I honestly don't know what I would do if it were you back in there."

Syl reached up and pulled him into a hug, taking comfort in having his warm, strong arms wrapped around her.  "Reason number two that we have to get her outta there."

Krit pulled away and looked at her.  "Reason number one being…?"

Syl searched his eyes in all solemnity.  "If we don't…they'll kill her."  They searched each other's faces as the reality of the grim situation at hand settled in, and they barely heard the ding of the elevator as it reached the penthouse floor.

************************************************************************

Logan felt more than heard the presence of the two people in the doorway behind him.

"Took you long enough," he said without taking his eyes off the screen.

Syl grinned.  "Krit wanted to stop for dinner."

"Genetically enhanced super-soldier's gotta eat," he replied as he sauntered over to the computer.  He looked down at Logan's foot, tapping anxiously on the ground.  "Whoa, no exo?  Did we miss something?"

Logan smiled at him appreciatively, surprised he had noticed so quickly.  "Yeah, got rid of it, it was weighing me down."

Krit nodded, knowing better than to press.

"So what you got for us?" Syl piped up.  "What's this about Lydecker?"

"Well, he contacted me via email a couple days ago.  Said he had some news I might find interesting, and gave me a number to call him at.  So I spoke to him a few hours ago, and apparently, Max is still alive.  I don't know how, I don't know why, but she is, and according to him, she's in bad shape.  We gotta get her outta there."

"Noted," Krit acknowledged.  "How's it goin' down?"

Logan shook his head.  "We haven't gotten the actual logistics down yet.  I have to meet with Lydecker tomorrow.  I was thinking to bring him back here to iron out the plans, but I'm not so sure I want him knowing where I live."

Syl nodded.  "I agree.  Him knowing where you live could put you in danger, even after we get Max back.  What time are you meeting him tomorrow?"

"17:00 hours."

"Ok," she said thinking, "Krit and I can go do some recon tomorrow morning, maybe early afternoon, and see if we can find somewhere else to do briefing."

"Great," Logan replied, "thanks.  In the meantime, it's kinda late, if you guys want to crash, the guest room's down the hall.  Make yourselves at home.  I'd offer you something to eat, but since you already stopped for dinner I guess that's obsolete.  Of course, feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen if you want it."

They both nodded.  "Thanks Logan," Syl said, reaching down to give him a hug.

"No," he replied as she pulled away, "Thank you.  You have no idea how much this means to me."

Syl smiled and patted him on the shoulder.  "Don't worry so much, big brother.  She's gonna be fine."

Logan smiled.  _Apparently Max isn't the only one who considers me part of the family_.  He watched as the two soldiers before him headed off down the hall to the guest room, before turning back to his computer.  He had some work to get done before his meeting with Lydecker tomorrow.  He had told himself in the beginning not to get his hopes up, but after seeing Max's brother and sister, and hearing the willingness in their voices to do whatever it took to get their sister back, he couldn't help but begin to feel little bubbles of excitement fill his chest.  _Hang on Max,_ he thought,_ we're on our way._

************************************************************************

Syl looked up at Krit sleeping peacefully next to her.  He looked so innocent, as though the first 11 years of his life hadn't been spent in a biosynthetic military boot camp for genetically enhanced individuals.  She sighed as memories of the ghastly place came back to her.  Knowing that if she tried to drift into a restless sleep she would only have nightmares, served to better support her decision to get out of bed.  She stole one last glance at Krit, and then slowly slid out of the bed and out of the room.

Syl had planned on going to the kitchen, grabbing a cup of milk, and maybe sitting and watching the dreary town below them, but the blue light from Logan's computer room stopped her in her tracks.  She stood in the doorway, and watched as he focused on what was in front of him.  He was so bound, so dedicated.  He reminded her of Max at times.

She knocked softly on the wall. "Knock, knock," she whispered.  Logan's head jerked up.  "Sorry," she cringed.  "Didn't mean to scare you."

He gave her a slow smile.  "No, it's okay.  It's just…Max used to do that."

"Oh," Syl nodded knowingly.  "So do you always stay up this late?"

He shrugged.  "Only when it's really important."

The young transgenic smiled at him.  "Which is pretty much all the time?"

"Uh…yeah, pretty much," he laughed.  He paused for a moment.  "Shark DNA keepin you on your toes?"

It was her turn to laugh.  "You know it.  As much as I would like to sleep, knowing that I'll need the rest, every time I close my eyes, I see Manticore."

Logan nodded.  "Subconsciously, your body knows you're getting ready to go back, and not to sound pessimistic, but if anything goes wrong, you might not make it back out."

Syl sat in a chair facing him, and stared off into the distance.  "I'd rather die than go back," she said in a low voice.

Logan placed a hand softly on her shoulder.  "Don't worry, Syl.  We won't let you get caught."

Syl smiled at him, and paused before talking again.  "So enough about my own personal hell on earth.  Tell me about Max."

Logan tensed visibly.  Even though he knew there was a chance that she was alive, her supposed death had taken its toll on him, and it was still very hard for him to talk about her.  "What do you want to know?"

"Well, the last time I was here, we didn't really get to talk much.  So probably anything you tell me will be news to me, I mean, I haven't seen her in ten years.  But I have been kinda curious…how did you guys meet?"

Logan sat back in his chair and sighed, before smiling at the memory.  "Actually, we met while she was breaking into my apartment."

Syl couldn't help the laughter that burst from her.  "Are you serious?!"

Logan nodded, the smile still wide on his face.  "Yep, she had decided that one of my statues was up to Manticore standards, and she wanted it.  I had two guests that I was housing, waiting to put into witness protection, and Max…well, she just dropped into my life."

Syl looked at him solemnly.  "What was the first thing you thought when you saw her?"

The smile dropped from his face.  "The first thing I thought when I saw her…she's beautiful…"

"That's what drew you to her?"

"That was part of it.  See, I grew up in a lifestyle of wealth and luxury, so even before the pulse, I was never really denied anything.  But when I saw Max, I knew getting her would prove to be a demanding challenge.  I knew she wasn't like other girls…there was something about her…she was so…mysterious…"

Syl nodded slowly at that.  "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

He looked at her curiously.  "Albert Einstein."

She smiled and shrugged.  "One good genius can always appreciate another."  A silence descended over them, and Syl broke it.  "Well, Logan, thanks for talking to me while keeping me company.  Usually, Krit just uses it as an excuse to get another meal."

Logan laughed softly.  "No problem."

She stood.  "I feel closer to my sister already.  She's lucky, she's got one of the good guys.  I can see why she likes you so much."

Logan looked up at her seriously.  "She makes my life worth living…there's nothing I wouldn't do for her."

"Well, pretty soon, you'll have her back…just don't forget to invite me to the wedding," she poked him slyly.

Logan's cheeks flushed red.  How was he supposed to answer that?  He **did** want to spend the rest of his life with Max, didn't he?  Of course, that's not what worried him, it was whether or not she wanted to spend her life with him.  But before he could spit out a retort, Syl disappeared.  He turned and looked back at his computer, deciding to shut it down for the night.  Tomorrow would be a big day.  After his meet with Lydecker, it would only be a matter of time before he got Max out…or died trying.

************************************************************************

post: Ok people, that's it for this chapter.  Thanks for all the GREAT reviews.  I would post more personal answers if I had the time, but I really don't this time.  But you know who you are, and I know who you are, and that's what matters.  Just one thing, my sister read over this, and she said it may seem to some like I was trying to get a Syl/Logan thing going.  Know this: THAT IS NOT THE CASE.  I'm just trying to develop a friendship between two people who are close to Max.  I mean, how would the series look if say, Logan and Original Cindy didn't really know each other…not that they do, but you know what I mean.  So anyways, sorry about the long note.  Next chapter more action.  Finals over at the end of next week, so more time to write.  Thanks again!


	5. Chapter 5: Dark Progressions

Disclaimer: I own a blue pack of cards, a Twix caramel cookie bar, and the cardboard box that is currently known as my place of residency….nope, no Dark Angel.  What were you expecting?  If I did own it, do you seriously think I'd be living in a cardboard box?

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence; this chapter a little darker, got some dark references, but nothing past PG-13

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N:  Hey guys, sorry about the time lapse between posts.  I finally finished my finals, and moved back home.  Things have been kinda hectic.  But it's starting to calm down, so I'll post again soon.

A/N2: I would like to dedicate this chapter to a friend of mine who drowned last Tuesday.  To Deshawn Canada 1985-2004, he'll be missed dearly.  And now on with the story.

Chapter 5

Dark Progressions

Max's eyes partially opened, revealing a blinding light around her.  Suddenly, a shadow moved to block it.

"Hey there, welcome back," it said.

She squinted, the light causing a flaring pain to sear through her head.  She brought up a hand to her eyes to wipe them clearly, and was surprised to find that she was in a different cell.  One on the main floor, not in the cellar, and she was no longer restrained.  The face came into focus, and she gasped at the sight.

"Ben?" she whispered.

The boy cocked an eye at her.  "Ben?  You mean that insane psycho freak that cost me six months in psy-ops?  No way.  I'm his clone, designation 494."

Max struggled to sit up, but the scorching pain in her muscles prevented her from doing so.  Instead she narrowed her eyes at him.  "Don't you ever talk about him that way," she said in an even voice.  "You didn't even know him."

"I didn't have to know him," 494 said with a slight smirk on his face, "I _am_ him."

Max took a deep breath to calm herself down.  She wanted to charge him; knock that stupid smirk right off his face, but she knew she was too weak to even climb out of bed.

"And _you_ are 452," he continued.

"My name is Max," she said defiantly, as she had everyday since she'd been brought there.

"Still haven't beat that out of you yet huh?" he muttered to himself.  "Anyways, now that we all know who we are, let's get this over with shall we?"  He walked over to the side of the bed, and lifted off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"I've been assigned your new breeding partner."

"Breeding partner?!" she spat.

"Hey, don't look at me that way; it was you and your crew that decided to blow the embryology lab and everything in it.  Otherwise, we'd still be doing it the old fashioned way."

It was funny to Max how the 'old-fashioned way' to Manticore meant genetically engineering one-celled zygotes and placing them into surrogates, but she didn't voice her opinion.  "Get the hell away from me," she hissed at him.

"It won't be so bad," he smiled cockily at her, reaching for her shoulder.  "Maybe if you're nice enough, I'll even let you go before me."

Max narrowed her eyes at his innuendo, and lifted her arm, summoning all the strength she had in her to send one well-aimed fist flying straight between his legs.  Seconds later, he was on the ground, rolling like an infant.

"What the hell was that?!" he gasped.

"The only kind of contact you and I will ever have," she replied, determination etched in her features.

He finally sat up.  "Don't wig out, this ain't exactly no picnic for me either.  You've been on the outside for more than a decade, who knows what you've got."

She decided to let the wisecrack slide.  "'Don't wig out'?" she asked curiously.

"Slang 101, Manticore style.  Had to set me up for my solo missions."

"You mean assassinations?"

He shrugged his shoulders.  "Semantics."  A guard knocked on the barred window.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," 494 stood, and nodded to Max.  "See ya around, _Max_."

"Not if I see you first, _Alec_," she replied.  He stopped and turned to look at her.

"Alec?"

"As in smart alec, which is exactly what you are."

For what seemed to be the hundredth time since she'd met him, he cocked an eyebrow.  "Second choice?"

"You don't want to know," she said in a low, even voice.

"Ok," he retreated.  "Alec's good for me.  It's actually kinda got a ring to it."  He turned to leave and then stopped to look at her again.  "You know, I didn't expect you to be so surprised to see me.  It's not like I'm the first breeding partner Manticore's sent to you."

Max searched her mind, but couldn't remember there ever being another.

"What are you talking about?"

"What, you thought they all were just going to wait for you to wake up?  Not all guys are as nice as me."  Triumphantly, he turned and left.

Max's eyes widened as the realization of what he'd said hit her like a ton of bricks.  The thought of anyone but Logan touching her made her physically ill; and the fact that she wasn't even awake to fight them off caused the bile to rise in the back of her throat.  She wondered how often it had happened, how many there had been before Alec.  The thought made her heart break, and her eyes filled with tears.  She closed them, and took deep breaths to take them away.  Manticore had hit an all-time low, and she knew now more than ever that she had to get out.  The door to her cell opened, but her eyes did not.  Seconds later, she felt a stinging sensation in her arm, and she drifted off once again to unconsciousness, which was just fine with her.  Reality was a bitch, and anything that got it away from her was more than welcome.

Logan looked at his watch; it was nearly 4:00.  They'd be leaving soon to meet up with Lydecker.  He turned back towards his computer, and printed out a copy of the blueprint of the old empty warehouse Krit and Syl had found.  He had thought about sending Deck an email to let him know of the plans, but decided it better to wait until they were face to face.  He didn't want the emails ending up in the wrong hands.  A second later, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You almost ready?" Syl questioned him.  She was dressed in all black, as was Krit, and they both looked as though they were ready to get it all over with.

"Yeah," he sighed.  "Just give me a minute."

Suddenly the door banged open.  "Anybody home?"

Logan stood and walked out to the front room, surprised to see Max's best friend there.

"Hey," he said cautiously, "what are you doing here?"

"Skipped out early on work, came by to see if you came up with any new info on my Boo.  And judging from the looks of these two," she motioned to Syl and Krit who had come to stand behind Logan, "I'd say you came up with somethin'."

"What makes you say that?" Logan asked nervously.  He hadn't wanted to get too many people involved; the more people involved, the more lives risked.

"Cuz only my Boo and her fam can dress in all that black, and still make it look good," she replied with a smirk.  "Now tell Original Cindy what's going on.  Did you find Max?"

Logan couldn't look her in the eye.  "We haven't found anything yet, but I have to go meet with a contact.  I'll call you if anything comes up."

Original Cindy walked over to him and looked him in the eye.  "Richie Rich, does this look like the face of a girl who was born yesterday?  Original Cindy knows somethin's about to go down, and she knows it has to do with her Boo.  Don't you think she has a right to know everything?"

He finally let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and nodded, before turning to Krit and Syl, who had been waiting patiently beside him, taking the whole situation in.  He tossed them the keys to the Aztec.  "Would you guys mind loading up the car for me?  I'll be there in a minute."  They merely nodded silently and headed off to pack up their stuff.  Logan turned back to Max's roommate and sighed.  "Ok, after I had my dream and figured out that Max was still alive, I got an email from Lydecker."

"Max's black helicopter guy?" Cindy interrupted him.

"The very same.  He said that he had some interesting news for me.  So I called him up, and it turns out that not only is Max still alive, but she's been inside Manticore the whole time."

Cindy gaped at him, speechless for the first time in her life.  She soon found her voice.  "You're gonna get her out though right?"

Logan looked at her seriously.  "We're sure as hell gonna try."

She nodded, and sat down on the couch.  "So what can I do to help?"

He shook his head.  "Nothing, just wait at home to hear from me."

Cindy scoffed at him.  "Original Cindy had her Boo torn from her life, thought she was dead for the past three months, only to find out her Boo's been spending her summer in the eighth circle of Dante's inferno, and is about to be broken out, and you want her to just sit here and do nothing?"  Logan didn't respond, he didn't know how to.  "Look, I understand you got a lot going on in your life right now.  But I love Max, almost, if not just as much as you do.  Let me help."

He looked her in the eye, and nodded.  "Ok, I may have an idea of how you can help.  But right now, I have to go meet with Lydecker.  Stay here until I get back."

"Original Cindy ain't goin nowhere," she said picking up the remote and leaning back into the sofa.  "Her Boo's boy has cable."

Logan smiled at the way she had referred to him as Max's boy.  If…no, when they got her out, he would do everything he could to make that saying a reality.  He headed toward the door, and closed it softly behind him.

Lydecker sat looking around the small café.  Logan would be there soon, and he knew there would be questions, questions he wasn't sure he wanted to answer.  But he had to get Max out of Manticore.  When she had lost consciousness, and been out for nearly a week, Renfro had decided to try to impregnate her using recombinant DNA from some of her fellow X5's.  Lydecker had tried to talk her out of it, but his pleas had all been in vain.  Now there was no choice.  He had to get her out, time was almost out.

Speaking of time, Logan should have been there by then.  Deck looked at his watch; it read 16:58.  In two minutes, he was going to have to leave.  He was already compromising his position by leaving Manticore for this extended amount of time.

"Been waiting long?" Logan asked as he approached the table.

Lydecker looked up at him.  "Not really.  Been procrastinating long?"

Logan raised an eyebrow.  How had Deck known he had been sitting in the car, watching him, waiting for the right time to approach?  "Long enough," he responded.  "Can I sit?"

The Colonel gave him a curt nod.  "I see you brought back-up with you," he told him, his eyes never leaving Logan's.  But he had already noticed both Krit and Syl stationed near the entrance to the restaurant.

"Tactics 101, always have back-up.   How do I know you're not here to take me back to Manticore to turn me in?"

Lydecker scoffed. "How do I know you're not here to take _me_ to Manticore to turn me in?"

"How would I benefit from that, pray tell?"

"Your fears beg the same question."

"Ok," Logan sighed exasperatedly.  "Enough with the courteous banter.  I want Max.  You can get her out.  You want to take down Manticore for whatever reason.  I can help you.  But why would you want to help me?"

"I've done a lot of dishonorable things in my life.  Most of them I can't fix, but this one I can."

Logan nodded.  "What happened after the first attempt anyway?  After Max died, you clocked me, and I woke up in my penthouse with Krit and Syl.  How did you end up back at Manticore?"

"After I dropped the three of you off, I figured I'd head out of state for a while, but I got held up at a sector point.  Damn things have become the bane of my existence.  Those sector police don't know what it means to be a real soldier.  They're just civilians in uniform." He stopped his rant at a look from Logan.  "Anyways, it turns out the Committee had an APB out on me.  So I was taken into custody.  That was the first time I met that bitch, Renfro.  She said the Committee wanted my ass on a silver platter, and she was all but ready to give it to them, unless I could prove myself worthy."

"And how were you going to do that?"

"They had closed in on two rogue X5s down in New Mexico.  She wanted me to bring them in."

"Did you?" Logan asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"I had to.  I knew I needed to get back in the Committee's good graces.  The first attempt was a sign that trying to take down Manticore from the outside would be a failure at best.  The only thing left to do was take it down from the inside.  That is what I have slowly been working at everyday since I went back."

"You said you've seen Max every day for six weeks.  How is that possible?  Why would they allow you to see her?"

Lydecker looked away.  He wasn't sure if he should tell Logan the truth.  It might affect his decision to aide him in his attempt to take down Manticore.  "That information is classified, and on a need to know basis," he finally stated.

"Yeah, well I do need to know before I help you do anything.  I need to know everything."

The older man nodded, and began slowly.  "They put me in charge of her reindoctrination."

"You tortured her?!" Logan nearly shouted.  A few faces turned to look at them, but resumed their business after a few moments.

"I did what I had to do to keep her alive."

Logan felt his blood boil, as anger flowed through his body.  "How can you justify that?  How is that keeping her alive?"  His eyes narrowed.  "What am I saying?  You don't even care."

"You don't know what they did to her!" Lydecker hissed at him through clenched teeth.  "They beat her.  They tortured her.  They raped her.  They humiliated her.  And that was only because I talked them out of doing what they had originally planned.  Do you think I liked standing there everyday, watching them demean and degrade her?  Those X5s were the closest things I ever had to real kids.  So don't you tell me about not caring."  He sat back in his seat, clearly perturbed by the whole conversation.  "Look, we're not here to talk about my history.  We're here to discuss how to get Max out.  I don't want her there any more than you do."

Logan stared at the top of the table.  None of his thoughts were completely coherent.  He couldn't believe what he was hearing.  It was long moments before he could get his neurons in line long enough to form a rational sentence.  "Why are they doing this to her?" he whispered.

"They're trying to break her spirit.  They want Eyes Only," Lydecker explained in a voice equally as low.  "And she—"

"—won't give me up," Logan finished for him.  "This is my fault.  When's the soonest we can move out?"

"I'm thinking not until midnight tomorrow."

"Fine, I've got an idea.  Let's go." He stood silently, motioned with his head to Krit and Syl, and they all headed out the door through the rain that had begun to pour, and towards the empty warehouse at the end of the block.  Logan knew that no matter what happened now, Max would probably never be the same.

post: Ok, so that's it for this chapter, the next one will be up hopefully by the end of the week.


	6. Chapter 6: Operation Liberate and Oblite...

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: I know, I know, I said the end of the week, and it wasn't there. Sorry, lots of things to do. Getting ready to go to Mexico, so I'm going to try to finish the story before I leave. My teacher said it's not a good idea to bring our laptops, so I'll be without for a month, and it's really not fair to leave you guys in suspense for that long. So I'm gonna try to finish it up within the next coupla weeks, otherwise…

Chapter 6

Operation Liberate and Obliterate

Logan and Krit headed to the Aztec to gather up all the maps and plans Logan had gathered prior to the meeting and brought them to where Syl and Lydecker stood waiting patiently, shoulders hunched in the pounding rain.

"Let's get inside!" Logan shouted to them over the rush of the precipitation. "If we stay out here any longer, I'm not gonna be able to read the maps." They all headed inside, and laid the papers and rolls on an empty table in the middle of the vast vacant room they'd stepped into. Logan took that chance to really look around and see what he'd gotten himself into. He noticed that the warehouse itself was not so big as far as warehouses go. It was in fact the emptiness of the room and the sound of harsh raindrops pelting the roof that added to its seemingly large appearance. There was a row of broken windows that lined each wall near the ceiling, and a steel rodded catwalk that ran the length of the room. _Krit and Syl did a good job. Maybe I'll have them do some work for me in the future if they're interested._

Lydecker spread out a map of the facility that Logan had managed to get a copy of. "Ok," he began, "the plan to take down Manticore is like this…"

Logan cut him off before he had the chance to continue. "The plan starts with rescuing Max. She is the first priority. After she's out, if the opportunity presents itself to take them down, then we proceed. We can always go back and finish that objective, but we're only gonna get one chance to get her out."

Lydecker stared at Logan, and the two men held each other's gaze unwaveringly. A few tense moments passed, and then Lydecker finally nodded. He recognized the look in Logan's eyes. It was the look of a man desperate to save the woman he loved. Deck had held the look on his own face years ago…

_Flashback_

Deck rode beside his wife, on his way home. He stole a look over to catch the eye of the beautiful young woman with dark hair, and mysterious brown eyes. He thanked the Gods everyday since the moment she'd walked into his life. He considered himself to be the luckiest man on earth. Startled from his reverie, he realized that she had said something to him.

"What?" he asked distractedly.

"I said 'why don't you keep your eyes on the road'?" she responded with a hint of a smile on her face.

He smiled back at her, and turned his attention back to the road.

"What were you thinking about anyway?" she asked casually.

"Oh, nothing," he teased. "Just wondering what I did to deserve a woman like you."

"Oh?" she teased him as well. "Well have you figured it out?"

He was about to give a witty comeback when a cry startled them from the back of the car. She turned around. "Shh, shh little one, we're almost home." The young baby seemed to take comfort in her mother's words. She quieted down, and began to take an interest in the plastic keys in her car seat.

The woman turned in her seat just in time to see the out of control truck careening straight for them. All of Lydecker's military training couldn't have prevented them from being hit. He remembered a blinding light, a voice screaming "Donald! Look out!", the forced impact of the steering wheel hitting his face, the sound of crunching metal, and the feel of broken glass as he was thrown from the vehicle. Everything hurt. He didn't know how long he had been out, but when he looked up, there was a man standing over him, telling him not to move. But he had to move, he had to make sure his wife and child were okay. Where were they anyway? He didn't see them anywhere. He sat up, frantically calling their names. It was then that he saw the overturned truck, and his own car, both leaping with raging flames…the rest was darkness…

_End Flashback_

"Hello???" came the insistent voice breaking into his thoughts.

"What?" he started.

"Pay attention! I said which of us should be the one to bring Max out?" Syl questioned.

"I'll do it!" both Lydecker and Logan jumped at the chance.

"No," the Colonel said to him, "we need you to stay back at our temp base and maintain control over our communications and pc intel."

"That's where I was last time, and do you recall what happened, or should I spell it out for you?"

"I know, but there's no one else to do it. Look, I've had an old friend of mine working through some of the systems of Manticore's mainframe computer. I told him that I needed a way of getting rid of Manticore. No one can know that it existed, anytime, anyplace…ever. That's why the last mission was such a failure. Yes, we hit them where it hurt, but they had enough back-up information on disk that they could just settle down and start somewhere else if need be. So he came up with some virus that he claims can wipe the entire hard drive. The only problem is it has to be uploaded into the main computer in Manticore's control center. We're going to need Krit and Syl to do that. It's major security in there, and I don't have clearance to get through anymore. That's why I need you back here, keeping an eye on everything; making sure they get in, and making sure the virus does its job."

Logan sighed. It seemed that no matter what, even though he was now out of the wheelchair, he was doomed to be the fellow who sat back and watched while everyone else went out and kicked some ass.

"And you're sure you can trust this guy?" he asked uncertainly.

"I've known him my whole life, and I'd trust him with it."

"Good, because it looks like it's gonna be our asses on the line here. Okay, so if I'm watching communication and intel, Krit and Syl are uploading the virus, and you're rescuing Max, we need to figure out get-away."

"Get away?" Krit finally spoke up. "What do you mean? Can't we just drive away?"

"No, I mean like a back-up person. Someone we trust, who can be our driver in the case that any of us gets hurt. We're going to need two vehicles. It'll look less suspicious if three people each leave in two cars than if six people leave in one car."

"Well, who do we got?" Syl asked.

"I think I know just the person," Logan replied.

They spent the next few hours there, planning actual logistics, making sure they knew where everything was, how long it would take them to reach destination, and timing everything perfectly. They closed up shop sometime after midnight, and Deck headed off back toward the Manticore site, while Krit, Syl and Logan headed back to Fogle Towers.

"You think we can pull this off?" Syl asked while they rode the elevator up toward the penthouse.

"I think we don't have a choice," Krit said, resting an arm around her shoulders. "If we fail, Manticore isn't going to give us another chance."

"We have to try to remain positive," Logan interjected. "For Max's sake."

They all thought over what he had said as the ding of the elevator sounded its arrival to the penthouse floor. They stepped off silently, and headed into Logan's apartment. They headed into the living room only to find Original Cindy conked out on the couch. Logan smiled and brought out a blanket to cover her with. Syl bid him good night and left for the guest room. Logan noticed that the two X5s looked just as fatigued as he did. He wasn't sure exactly how much sleep an X5 needed, Max was hardly an ideal example, but he knew that it wasn't as much as a normal human. For them to be this exhausted meant that they'd probably been up for a while, and this whole situation was taking quite the toll. He suggested all this to Krit, and told him to make sure he got a good night's sleep, for the next day they would need to be at 110%.

Krit nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sleep well Logan, it may be your last night as a free man."

Logan just gave him a weary smile. "What Krit? Already forgotten the statement I just made about keeping hope alive?"

"Oh yeah," he replied. He turned and headed towards Syl and the guest room, rubbing a tense muscle in his neck the whole way.

Logan smiled to himself as he pulled the blankets up over his chest. He had more hope in his heart right then than he'd ever had in his life. _We'll get you out Max…I promise. If it's the last thing I ever do, I'm going to get you out of that hellhole._ Glancing over at his alarm clock, he took note that there was less than 23 hours until they would put Operation Liberate and Obliterate into effect. He drifted into a restless sleep.

Logan looked out the window of his Aztec. All he could see was darkness. He had been watching and monitoring everyone's progress using comms, and the programs on his laptop. Krit and Syl had already checked in, the virus had begun to eat away at the system. It took some time, but the officials inside had noticed it, but by then, it was too late to do anything about it. In their haste to try to save the foundation of their program, they hardly noticed Lydecker slipping in. He had contacted Logan over the comms, and let him know that he had reached Max, and they were on the way. That had been five minutes prior, and he hadn't had contact with anyone since.

Suddenly, he saw them, two figures moving towards him in the shelter of the trees that surrounded them. Lydecker emerged silently first, a look of grim determination on his face. Shortly following him was the one person Logan had dreamed of seeing again every moment of the past three months.

"Max," he whispered. She looked a little different he remembered her. Her hair was longer, and she was thinner, not that she hadn't been thin before, but she seemed to be more toned now. But her face was the same, a face that he couldn't forget. He was supposed to wait in the car until the two of them showed up, but he couldn't help it. He jumped out of the car, and ran towards her.

When Max looked up, she saw the one person she had dreamed of seeing again every moment of the past three months. "Logan," she whispered. He looked a little different than she remembered him. His hair was longer, and he was walking. She knew he had the aide of the exoskeleton when she got captured, but he didn't seem to be wearing it now. But his face was still the same, a face that she couldn't forget. When Lydecker had come to get her out, he reminded her of all her training. She was supposed to keep her distance, and proceed with caution until there was a significant gap between them and Manticore, but she just couldn't help herself. The moment she saw him coming towards her, she took off running at a speed that no human could maintain.

Then suddenly, they were in each other's arms, and though neither of them knew who started it, his lips were on hers, briefly, softly, before he pulled away.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" he asked frantically, holding her at arms length and looking her over to make sure there was really nothing wrong with her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she insisted, before burying her head into his shoulder, and finally allowing the tears to come.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here," he said, holding her closely.

"Wait a minute," she said quickly. "Where's Lydecker?"

"Right here," came a voice as the unmistakable sound of a gun cocked in their ears. "Turn around slowly," he said.

Logan squeezed his eyes shut, and let go of Max, who still clung to him, before turning around gradually. He pulled Max behind him to shield her from any hurt, even though she was clearly able to take care of herself.

"Ok," Logan stated in a voice that sounded clear to the ears, but betrayed the turmoil that spread through his insides. "You got me. That's what you want right? You don't need her anymore. Just let her go."

Lydecker just shook his head. "Sorry son," he whispered. Suddenly, his finger was on the trigger, and the gun went off. Logan felt a burning sensation when the bullet pierced his chest. He felt Max's arms around his chest when the wave of dizziness caused the ground to rush up at him, heard her cries, saw her tears, and nothing else…

Her voice echoed in his ears. "Logan…Logan…Logan…"

"Logan!"

Logan's eyes flew open, and he sat straight up in bed. He took a moment to catch his breath before looking over at the girl standing at the side of his bed.

"You aight Boo?" Original Cindy looked him over with concern.

"Yeah," he lied, a little shakily. "Yeah, just a bad dream."

"Oh ok," she replied skeptically. "Well get up, I gotta go to work, and I want some grub."

He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and yawning, reached for his glasses. "Ok, give me a minute."

Cindy left, and he collapsed back against the pillow, thinking hard about what had just happened.

Miles away in Gilette, Max's own eyes wearily opened as she lay in bed, and whispered just one word.

"Logan."

Logan told Cindy of their plans over breakfast. Once she left for work, he went to check on Krit and Syl. The guest room was empty and the bed was made up. So he figured they must've had their own errands to run. He settled down at his computer to check on his contacts and to see if any Eyes Only news had come through the informant net. Nothing new had happened. He began taking precautionary measures. He set his informant net to self destruct at 8 am the next day. He figured that if they weren't back by then, they wouldn't be coming back. So the computer would spread a virus, that not unlike the one they were releasing into Manticore's computer, would erase all memory, and also contact his contacts to let them know that they may have been compromised.

Once he had finished that, he called his old friend Bling. After Logan had gotten back on his feet, his need for Bling had diminished to the point where his friend only came around once in a while for a friendly chat. Logan had also called on him if he needed assistance with any Eyes Only missions, and Bling was always ready to lend a helping hand. For once, it almost seemed as if things were back to the way they had been before he had even met Max. But of course, things were very different.

Leaving a message on his answering machine, Logan made sure to let him know that if anything did happen, he was to make sure that his will was carried out and look after things for him. They had discussed this plan of action way back when Bling had first been hired, and let in on the Eyes Only secret. He almost told him to contact his family, but Logan figured the last thing the Cales wanted was to hear that the black sheep of the family had mysteriously disappeared and probably wasn't coming back. Or maybe it was the first thing they wanted to hear…in any case, Logan didn't think they needed to know.

He shut down his computer wondering if it would be the last time he would see it, and checked his watch. It was well after noon, and Krit and Syl still hadn't returned yet. Logan busied himself around the apartment, making sure everything was in place, and gathering any folders, discs, and equipment he might need for the mission that evening.

Soon afterwards, Krit and Syl returned, not mentioning where they had been, and Logan didn't bother to ask. He fixed them a quick dinner, which they ate heartily, and as they had the night before, packed their equipment into the back of Logan's old Aztec. The three of them looked around the apartment, making sure everything was in order.

"You ready to go?" Syl asked him.

Logan looked around. They had planned on picking up Cindy from her place on the way. So unless there was nothing else…"Actually, I do have to get one more thing." He went back to his computer, and picked up the frame holding the picture of Max next to it. Opening the back of the glass, he pulled out the photo, and carefully folded it in half before placing it in his back pocket. "Ok," he said entering the living room and heading for the door once again. "Let's go." Krit and Syl walked out the door, waiting in the hallway for him. Logan took one last look around, and then left also, pulling the door closed behind him. He couldn't help but notice how the soft click of the handle was very much like a coffin closing over his head.

Lydecker sat waiting, watching the door to the warehouse for any sign of Logan and the two X5s. It had been somewhat of a test to get out of Manticore at this late hour of night. Security detail at the front gate had been a little suspicious of his midnight outing, but he assured them it was a classified mission, given to him by the Committee, which required his late attendance, and that was all that needed to be said. It had taken him a while to come up with the story. He usually considered himself one with a pretty good imagination, but he needed an airtight story in order to get himself out without sending up any warning signals to the director inside. He figured the one he came up with was as good as any. It would give him time to leave, and come back to get inside if need be. So now all he had to do was wait.

His watch beeped 24:00, and the door to the warehouse promptly opened. Logan, Cindy, Krit and Syl all strolled in.

"Right on time," Lydecker commented.

"As if you expected anything less," Krit said to him, his voice filled with disdain.

"As a matter of fact I didn't," Lydecker said right back, feeling the need to establish his superiority in this calamitous time.

"We're ready. Are you?" Syl asked without hesitation.

Lydecker looked at each of them dead on. "Let's move out."

Krit and Syl rode with Lydecker. Having grown up with him, they were used to his ranting diatribes, and tuned him out the whole way to Gilette. Logan refused to ride with him, his dream still strong in the front of his mind, and Original Cindy declared that she couldn't spend more than one minute in a small confined space with the man who she said 'jacked up my boo's life'. So she and Logan climbed into his old blue but faithful vehicle, and Krit, Syl and the Colonel climbed into an unmarked white van, much like the one they'd used on the previous trip.

Everyone took the two hour trip in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. They reached Gilette, sooner than they expected, and parked their vehicles in the woods nearby, so as not to alert anyone of their presence.

They met in the back of the white van. All of the equipment was set up there, and Logan handed each of them a comm. to keep in contact with him at all times.

"Ok, everybody know what they're doing?" Lydecker asked. Everyone around him nodded. He held up his watch. "Ok, synchronize your watches. Half an hour, and whoever's here moves out." He turned to Logan and Cindy. "You two, do not leave your posts for any reason until it is time to move out."

"Hey, you can't treat them like your good little soldiers Deck," Syl spat at him. "They were lucky enough not to grow up with you."

Lydecker gave her a malicious look. "Don't you mean the _privilege_, soldier?"

"Look, we really don't have the time for this. Max is waiting for us. Every second she's in there is another one closer to her death. Let's do this and get it over with," Logan said to them in a calm voice. In response, everyone silently placed the comm. units in their ears.

"Ok, move out now!" Lydecker gave the order. The van door opened, and he, Krit and Syl gathered their weapons, and left. Logan stayed in the van, and Cindy went back to the Aztec, under strict orders that if Logan so requested, she was to drive off without bothering to look back.

Logan tapped into the security cameras at Manticore, and led Krit and Syl towards the control center at the heart of Manticore. He wanted to help lead Lydecker to Max, but he none of the cameras that he had tapped into showed where she was being held. It didn't matter, Deck insisted that he knew where she was. So for what he hoped would be the only time in his life, Logan let him walk with Max's life in his hands. He followed the progress of the two X5s as they made their way through. They seemed to be doing okay. So he contacted Cindy.

"OC, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm here Boo," her voice crackled in his ear. "Can't see nothin' though. What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. But as soon as I know, I'll let you know."

"Good lookin'," she replied, and then was silent.

"I've got her!" came a voice in his ear suddenly.

"Lydecker is that you?" he asked carefully. "Repeat that last transmission."

"It's me. I said I've got Max, and I'm heading back to base."

Logan's heart leapt to his throat. "Krit, Syl, how's it goin?" He could then hear gun shots and shouts. "Krit, Syl come in…" He quickly checked the cameras. He saw them rounding a corner, heading straight into an entrapment. "Krit, Syl, it's an ambush! Get outta there!" They heard him too late. Logan watched in horror as guns went off, and smoke, fire and dust engulfed his camera, reducing the picture to static. "Damn it!" He pulled the small radio from his ear, threw the van door open, and took off towards his Aztec. He opened the back door, and climbed in.

"What happened?" Cindy asked nervously.

"I'm not sure. Krit and Syl walked into a trap." He shook his head, not sure if he completely understood how it had happened.

"Are they okay?" the young girl asked immediately.

Logan just looked at her for a few moments, before turning his attention out the window. Original Cindy heaved a sigh. "This kind of stuff is dangerous. Next time, leave Original Cindy out of it."

Logan didn't say anything; his eyes were on the figure emerging from the nearby grove of trees. He hopped out of the Aztec, and was greeted by a familiar voice.

"I thought I told you not to leave your post," Lydecker scolded him as he approached. In his arms was a bundle, wrapped in a sheet. But it couldn't be Max. Before Logan could question him about it, the older man dumped it into his arms.

"Wait, what about Krit and Syl?" Logan asked absent-mindedly.

"If they get out, they get out," Lydecker replied. "If they don't…" he trailed off. "I'll be in touch." And with that, he turned and headed off into the trees.

Logan glanced briefly down at the bundle in his arms, so light; he had forgotten she was there. He moved as quickly as his legs would allow before climbing into the back of his truck. "Go!" was all he got out before Cindy floored the pedal.

Logan looked down at the parcel in his arms. It seemed to be breathing. He slowly pulled the sheet away, and what he saw knocked all breath from his lungs. At once he felt so sick, he nearly turned away.

"Max," he whispered. Her skin was pale and sallow, and she was covered in so many bruises, he was almost afraid to hold her. There were random burn marks up and down her arms, and the grey t-shirt and shorts that she wore were torn and dirty. Congealed blood led a trail down the side of her head, matting her hair to her face. One of her hands was held at an odd angle, as though her wrist were broken or dislocated, and Logan held her hand in his. He could see that some of her fingernails had been ripped off, and a couple of her fingers had been broken. The insides of her arms were colored with bruises and small holes where large needles had been forced into her veins time and time again. So that some of them had collapsed. Her breathing was rattled, and he suspected that some of her ribs were broken or at least cracked. He looked at her face. There were various cuts in addition to the bruises that lined the side of her head. "Jesus Max," he found his voice to whisper, "What did they do to you?" For once, he thanked God that Max was genetically altered. No human could have survived what she had.

Max's eyelids fluttered, and opened halfway. Her mouth felt parched, and everything ached or stung or burned or just hurt. But the sight she saw made her heart leap with joy. She gave a small smile. "Logan," she whispered.

He started at her voice. He hadn't expected her to wake up, not in the state she was in. "Max, it's okay. It's just me."

"I didn't tell them…I didn't tell them."

"I know you didn't," his eyes filled with tears. He wasn't used to seeing her so vulnerable. "It's okay, save your voice; we'll have plenty of time to talk later. I'm taking you home."

"Home?" she whispered, her eyes fluttered before nearly closing.

"Yes home," he whispered back. Then leaned down, and softly placed a kiss on her forehead. She winced and drew back, and Logan saw the large purplish black mark that signified the early stages of a really bad bruise. "Sorry," he said in a low, choked voice as the tears fell from his eyes.

Max laid her head on his shoulder, and clung to his shirt, just as she had in the dream, but now whimpering like a small child. Logan's arms enveloped her as close as he dared near. He pulled the sheet around her shivering body. It wasn't until the shivering grew to a trembling, and then a downright shaking that he realized she was having a seizure.

"Max," he whispered to her. He tipped her chin to look up towards him. Her eyes rolled back into her head. _Great, just great…this is not how I pictured our reunion…_"Cindy, how much farther?" he shouted up to the front seat.

"We're almost there, Boo. What's goin on? Is my Boo okay?" she checked the rearview mirror.

He tried to be calm, but he knew he had to be straightforward. "She's going into epileptic shock. She needs her medicine right away. Or she's not going to make it."

Post: ok, that's it for now people. Made the chapter extra long since it took so long to get up. Next chapter up within a week. Thanks for all the awesome upon awesome reviews! You guys rock!


	7. Chapter 7: Mission Accomplished

Disclaimer: so I was thinking that maybe I could possibly probably try to pass off Dark Angel as my own, but then my mom told me that we can't afford any lawsuits…oh well, maybe next year

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Timeframe: Post AJBAC

A/N: Well hello everybody! It's great to be back. I've actually been back for like four weeks now, but I've been working on this and my paper and working two jobs back and forth, so that means I'm a little slower now. Plus my birthday just passed, 21, legal and lovin it. Didn't do anything of course, no money…story of my life. Mexico was good, but it's great to be back in the good ole US of A. Continuing with the story. I had to go back to the beginning and read it from there before I could continue, so I could get back in the mood to write (another reason it took so long) So I suggest that some of you who haven't had a chance to read anything since the beginning of June go back and take a look. Ok, here's the next installment.

Chapter 7

Mission Accomplished

The night flew by for Logan, he barely remembered what happened. Only from Original Cindy's recount did he have some kind of idea, and even then, there were gaps. It was as if seeing Max the way she was caused all of Logan's insides to freeze. He knew what Manticore was capable of and hadn't expected her to just waltz up to him all sunshine and smiles, but this…this was almost too much to bear.

He sat in the back of his beloved and faithful vehicle, holding the girl of his dreams who looked like some victim of extreme prejudice against a prisoner of war instead of the gentle creature he knew she was.

Logan's heart was in his throat as the cold metal of the cell phone found his ear. He clutched Max to his chest to try to still her body and keep her from knocking the phone from his hand.

_Bring, Bring._

"Hello?"

Logan's throat ached, but somehow he found his voice. "Sam, it's me."

"Logan?" Sam's sleepy voice was confused.

"Yeah, sorry to call so late, it's an emergency. I need you to meet me at my place. I can't explain right now, just trust me. Bring tryptophan…I'll explain when you get here." Logan didn't wait to hear his loyal doctor and friend's reply, but instead hung up quickly.

"How's it goin back there?" Original Cindy's eyes darted from the mirror to the road and back again. Logan looked down at Max's slightly trembling figure. Then paled as her body thrust into a new bout of shakes.

"Not so great," he finally choked out. "Maybe you better step on it huh?"

"Hey," she responded, "Original Cindy ain't tryin to get stopped by the popo tonight. The way she's feelin, she might have to whup some ass." Nevertheless, her foot pressed harder on the gas pedal.

As the Aztec flew through the streets closer and closer to the heart of Seattle and Fogle towers, Logan could only hope that Sam reached there before he did.

* * *

Before the car had even come to a complete stop in front of Fogle Towers, Logan had the back door open and was climbing out, still holding Max's trembling body. He ignored the look he got from the drunken homeless man perched outside his building, and continued inside to the lobby, for what was felt to be the longest elevator ride of his life. It finally reached his floor, and he approached his door.

"Cindy, my house keys are in my pocket, could you—?" But before she could even reach for him, the door swung open.

"Whoa, what the hell happened?" asked a familiar voice.

"Bling?!" Logan was surprised to see his friend at his place. But he quickly got over it, and brushed past him. "Is Sam here yet?"

"Didn't know he was coming…is that Max?" Bling's face paled as Logan's had a while before when he saw the small bundle in his friend's arms.

"Yeah," Logan whispered to his friend. He made his way back to the bedroom and quickly but carefully laid her on his bed. "What are you doing here?" he asked Bling.

"I came as soon as I got your message. Thought maybe I could stop you from doing something stupid, but you were already gone by the time I got here, so I just decided to wait." Bling approached the bed and tried to keep from staring at the worn soldier upon it. "Good God, man. What'd they do to her?"

Logan knelt at the side of the bed and took Max's hand in his own. His eyes wandered and glazed over as they stared off into a distance that didn't exist. Lydecker's voice whispered over and over in his ear like a broken, annoying record. _They beat her…tortured her…raped her…humiliated her…tortured her…beat her…raped her…humiliated her…_until he couldn't take it anymore. In one swift motion, he stood and his fist connected with the wall. Only the shout of his friend's voice and the rivulets of red streaming down his fingers brought him back to reality.

"Logan!" Bling quickly left the room and returned seconds later with his doctor's bag. He sat Logan down on the edge of the bed. Original Cindy appeared to see what the commotion was, as Bling took out a wrap and began to patch up Logan's hand.

"Boo," Cindy started as she sat next to him on the bed. "What are you doin? Ain't no need in you hurtin yourself too. Max needs you right now. The whole you, not in pieces. Original Cindy understands that you wanna get back at Max's black helicopter guys, but you can't do that yet. We have to make sure my Boo is okay first. Don't worry about Manticore. If there's anything that Original Cindy's mother taught her, it's that sneaky little bastards get theirs too. And believe me, Manticore will go down, Max'll make sure of it…just not right now. Concentrate on my Boo, aight?"

Logan looked her in the eye. "When'd you get so smart?" he asked her.

"I live with Max," she smiled. "Not that I wasn't smart before that…"

Logan smiled at that and nodded.

"Logan?" Max's whisper broke the silence. He whirled around and crossed to the other side of the bed to resume his position beside her.

"Yes Max, I'm right here"

Her body which had previously reached a sudden stillness now began a new wave of shakes. "I n-need t-tryptophan," she stuttered, "help m-me…p-please?"

Logan's heart broke at her pleas. "I know, Max. It's on the way; try to relax." He brushed the hair from her eyes, and she seemed to calm down a little at his touch. _Where's Sam?_ He wondered frantically. At that moment, there was a loud knock at the door.

"Logan? It's me, Sam!" he shouted from out in the hallway. "Open the door!"

Bling left to answer the door as Logan wouldn't leave Max's side. It was at that moment that Max's body decided to descend once again into shock.

"Sam, in here quick!" Logan shouted to his friend.

The doctor rushed in, took one look at Max, and nearly turned white as a sheet. "Logan, what the hell happened?"

"That's what I asked," Bling spoke up from behind. Sam didn't wait for an answer, but switched into 'doctor mode' and opened the bag he had brought with him. He pulled out a small flashlight, and checked each of Max's eyes.

Logan could only watch in horror as Max continued to tremble uncontrollably. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to look at Max's best friend. In all the chaos, he had completely forgotten that she was even there. One look in her eyes told him that she was just as worried as he was. She tugged at his hand and led him into the living room to sit on the couch, then sat with him.

Cindy wasn't really one for the comfort of the three-legged gender, but Logan was all she had at the moment, and she needed someone, a friend right then. Her head found his shoulder, and they sat in a companionable and apprehensive silence. She felt Logan shift below her.

"What's the matter Boo?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, I was just thinking about Max. Wondering…do you think she feels the same about me as I do about her?"

Original Cindy scoffed. "Original Cindy is absolutely sure she does. I've been trying to push you two together since the moment I realized you both were about to make a huge mistake."

"What mistake?"

"Not getting together," she replied.

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Oh…I just don't know what the future holds for us. Sometimes it feels like it's a one way street, you know? What if I sit down to talk to Max after all this is over, and she tells me that she doesn't like me? That she's never liked me; that she's only ever considered me a good friend who manages to keep her around by feeding her often."

"Hmph, that'll be the day," she muttered.

"What day?"

"The day Original Cindy drops her Lickity Boo and turns straight." Logan smiled at that. "You worry more than the president at the end of the pulse. I'm telling you for a fact that Max likes you more than just a friend. A lot more."

The silence descended upon them once again, and they stared out the window into the darkness until she fell asleep.

* * *

Back in Logan's room, Sam was having problems of his own. To Sam's surprise, Max's body went completely still; he placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse, which gratefully was still there, though weak.

"Bling, can you give me a hand?"

"Sure," the trainer replied, always at the ready. "What do you need me to do?"

Sam talked as he removed instruments and vials and bottles of medicine from his bag. "Vitals, heart rate, B.P., anything you can give me."

Bling nodded, put on his stethoscope and began rattling off information. "Respirations shallow and rapid, pupils dilated and non-responsive, heart rate…approximately 152 bpm."

Sam was startled at that, but continued working, inserting an IV into her still arm after finally finding a good vein, and attaching other instruments to her.

"B.P. 210 over 165, body temperature about 107°F." Bling continued spouting off her vitals, as Sam filled a vial with a clear liquid, turned it upside down to knock out air bubbles, and inserted it into Max's IV drip. Within moments, her heart rate and temperature had dropped, and her shallow breathing had evened out.

"What'd you give her?" Bling asked curiously.

"A Risperdal/Tryptophan cocktail."

"Risperdal?"

"Yeah, it's an older medicine, used with schizophrenics to help control their hallucinations, but recent research shows that it helps to counteract the affects of some hallucinogens as well. Judging from her symptoms, she must have been given some kind of medication, most probably a hallucinogen. I don't know where Max just came from, but wherever it was, it must've been hell. I've been a doctor for a pretty long time, and this is the worst shape I've ever seen any one person be in. Living in post-pulse USA, it takes a lot to faze me, but this…."

Bling nodded silently.

Together, they discarded the torn clothing and dressed her in a pair of Logan's shorts and one of his t-shirts. Then they splinted her wrist and fingers to set them straight, and patched the cut on the side of her head. Sam bandaged the insides of her arms, and put ice on some of her bigger bruises. The two men left towards the living room.

* * *

They found Logan and Cindy sleep on the couch. Bling softly shook his friend's shoulder.

"Logan," he whispered. "Wake up man."

Logan slowly opened his eyes, and looked down at Cindy's head in his lap before looking up at the two men. It took a moment, but the events of the night came rushing into his head like a monsoon. He sat up quickly, concern and worry flooding his heart.

"Max," he croaked, "is she okay?' In his mind, Logan knew that if Manticore wanted her dead, in the end, that's exactly what would happen. But he held on to his memories of the true Max, knowing that there was no odd she couldn't overcome. Well, hoping anyway. _Please let her be okay, please let her be okay…_

Sam and Bling looked at each other. "Well," Sam spoke up, "keeping in mind that the definition of 'okay' is fairly relative…she's kind of unconscious right now." Logan's eyes grew as large as saucers, but Sam continued. "However, knowing Max, she'll pull through. She's stable, and it looks as though some of her bruises are already beginning to heal. It's the psychological effects of all this I'm really worried about." Logan let out a sigh of relief so heavy, Sam wondered if it had some sort of effect on the air pressure in the room.

"Can I see her?"

"Yeah, of course. Keep in mind though, we've done all we can. The rest Max has to do by herself." Logan nodded avoiding the eyes of either one.

"Uh, I think I'm just going to take Cindy home," Bling finally said. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Logan nodded again, a million different thoughts and feelings flowing through him all at once, so that he really didn't trust himself to speak. Bling squatted, and lifted Original Cindy in his arms. She remained sleep as he bid the two men before him goodbye, and left the penthouse apartment.

Logan looked up, and for the first time noticed the sunlight streaming in through his window. How typical that the only sunny day of the year in Seattle may be the worst of his life. Sure, he just got Max back, but at what cost? He stood and thanked Sam profusely for all his help, and held the door as the doctor prepared to leave.

"Keep an eye on her Logan, but don't expect any miracles. And maybe one day you can tell me what the hell happened." Logan's eyes found the floor, and stayed there until the doctor had proceeded through the door and onto the elevator. "I'll call later on to see how she's doing." Sam yelled as the elevator doors closed in his face.

Logan slowly shut his apartment door, and rubbed his temples. Turning towards his bedroom, he prepared for the worst.

* * *

He paused outside the door to his bedroom, his hand posed on the knob. He had never been so scared in his life as when he first lost Max. It took every ounce of strength in his body just to make himself get out of bed for three months. Now he had her back…well, for the most part. Logan took a deep breath and turned the knob. The door slowly opened, and his head peered through. What he saw took his breath away. Max lay in his bed, covered to the waist with his wine-colored sheets, wearing one of his t-shirts, and sleeping soundly. The sun streamed in through his open window, and a single ray luminated her face. To him, she never looked more beautiful. He knelt next to her, and held her hand in his. The skin was silky and smooth, just the way he remembered it. His thumb ran the length of the back of her hand a hundred times as he sat lost in thought.

It was moments later that he felt a presence in the room. It seemed strangely familiar, and Logan didn't feel threatened. Without taking his eyes from Max, he spoke.

"I was beginning to wonder what happened to you guys…"

"I thought you might," the voice answered. "It was hell in there…we almost didn't make it out."

Logan finally turned to look at his visitor. "Well, I'm glad you did Krit. And Syl? Is she okay?"

Krit's neck stiffened, but he merely shrugged. "Yeah, we took a couple of hits, nothing that a standard issue genetically enhanced X5 can't handle. She'll be fine."

"Of course. Well, if there's anything that I…or Eyes Only can do for you, just let me know."

"Sure," Krit acknowledged. "How about my little sister…she doesn't look so hot. She's definitely seen better days," he tried to joke.

Logan smiled a little, and turned to look back at her. "Yeah…" then trailed off as he turned serious. He placed a hand on her forehead, careful to steer clear of her bruises, and traced a line down the side of her face. "She just looks like she's sleeping…like an angel. But she won't wake up…" his voice broke.

Krit approached him, and placed a hand on his shoulder as Original Cindy had done only hours before. "Try not to worry so much Bro, if I know Max as well as I think I do, she'll pull through this with flying colors."

Logan was oddly comforted by the fact that this was the second time that one of Max's siblings had referred to him as their brother. "Thanks, Krit. I hope so."

* * *

Syl leaned her head back on the couch. She was completely drained after that last attack. Her top right shoulder ached from the bullet hole that was put there by the rifles of the cavalry back at Manticore, as did her left thigh. She and Krit had heard Logan's warning at the last second, but were unable to get out of the line of fire. They had both taken hits, and were almost caught several times. But by the grace of some deity, they had escaped through a side tunnel neither Syl nor Krit ever remembered even being there. Then they had spent most of the night escaping through the woods, and trying to find shelter, stopping only to dress their wounds. It had been a long and exhausting ordeal, and when they'd finally made it back to Seattle, they were only too grateful.

Strangely enough, Syl felt right at home on Logan's couch. She felt safe, as though this were where she belonged. With her head resting, she closed her eyes, and tried to shut all pain and memories of the night before from her mind. The door opened and closed quickly, and a young female voice that Syl didn't recognize bellowed through the penthouse.

"Hello!!! Anybody home?" The voice continued and got louder as the person was apparently moving towards the living room. "Logan, you will never believe what I—" the girl that the voice belonged to stopped in her tracks when she saw Syl on the couch.

Syl sat up. "Who the hell are you?" she asked.

The young girl cocked her head to the side and placed a hand on her hip. "I think I reserve the right to ask that question."

Syl scoffed. "Not if I asked it first."

Her eyes narrowed at Syl. "Name's Asha. I work for Logan. And you are…?"

Syl paused before straightening up. "Syl," she answered simply. She already didn't like this Asha character, and she'd only known her for ten seconds. Something about her aura said that she was a possessive little snitch who wanted what she wanted then and there.

Asha took a few steps closer when she didn't say anything else. She wasn't quite sure why, but she already didn't like this Syl girl, and she didn't know anything about her but her name. Who was she to be laying up in Logan's apartment anyway? "So…how do you know Logan?"

Syl eyed her carefully. "He's my sister's boyfriend," she responded confidently.

Asha's breath caught in her throat. _Logan__ has a girlfriend?? He never said anything about that…and this Syl chick, whoever she is, is the first girl I've seen around here in the past three months since I started coming around again…_ "Funny, he's never mentioned you before."

"Gee, I was going to say the same thing about you," Syl responded.

Asha couldn't help herself. She had to know the whole story. "Boyfriend did you say?"

Syl smiled a little triumphantly. "Yeah. They've been together for a while."

"Is that so?" Asha asked in a dangerously low voice. "Well, Logan and I have worked together for quite some time, and he's never said anything about a girlfriend…I've never seen any pictures, heard any stories…Come to think of it, none of our mutual friends have either."

Syl automatically went on the defense. "Just because you can't see Uranus with the naked eye doesn't mean it's not there." She smiled inwardly at her own hidden joke.

Asha cocked an eyebrow, but before she could say anything Krit appeared. "Hey, you ready to—" he started, but like Asha was cut off midsentence.

Asha's eyes undressed Krit in a matter of seconds. _Not bad…not bad at all…_Krit shifted a little, uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Hey Krit," Syl greeted him, "this is Logan's friend…I'm sorry what's your name again?" she asked sweetly.

Asha's look could have melted a block of stone like acid. "Asha," she repeated.

"Right," Syl replied. "This is my brother Krit."

"Nice to meet you," Asha greeted him.

"Likewise," he replied before turning to Syl. "You ready to go?"

She nodded, and he helped her up off the couch, and put his arm around her shoulders to help support her. Syl turned to Asha before leaving.

"Logan's kinda busy right now, maybe you should come back another time," she suggested. Asha ignored her and, folding her arms, took a seat on the couch. "Suit yourself. But he and Max are in the bedroom, so you could be waiting a while." She turned so Asha couldn't see the smile on her face and with the help of Krit, headed out the door.

_Max?_ Asha wondered. _Is that the alleged girlfriend's name? Wait…is that even a _girl's_ name? Wait a second, __Logan__ did mention some girl Max a while back…but I thought she was out of the picture, and he never said that they were together like that._ Asha decided she'd wait for Logan. She didn't want to believe Syl's story about Logan's girlfriend, and in her mind, he was simply getting ready for the day, maybe getting out of the shower…toweling off…as the water drizzled down…_Stop Asha! _she scolded herself. Only a few seconds passed before her curiosity got the better of her, and she crept down the hall towards Logan's bedroom. She paused outside the door, and listened for any sounds that would indicate that Logan was inside, but hearing none, slowly opened the door and peered around the side. What she saw stunned her, her heartbeat slowed to a near standstill, her breath held strong in her lungs and her head swam in circles. She felt as though she were going to pass out and after only a few seconds, she closed the door once again, and stole out of his apartment.

* * *

Logan sat with Max's hand in his own. Krit had just left, promising to drop by later. Logan hoped he was right. As per Lydecker's account, Max had been out of it long before he'd even been able to rescue her from Manticore's clutches. Logan's mind traveled to the moment he'd realized he was in love with Max. Way back at his cousin's wedding…it had been then, while he recited what was meant to be a speech for his cousin and his new bride. But ultimately became a profession of his feelings for her. 

Slowly, without realizing it, his mouth opened, and he began to talk to her.

"They crossed paths by fate," he whispered as his fingers caressed her face, "but became partners by choice, and together they are embarking on the greatest adventure two people can share…it's already started Max. We're already sharing the adventure. Why did you leave me? You're my best friend, my partner, where would I be without you? Don't you understand? I can't do this on my own. Come back…please?" Logan spent moments afterward, staring at Max's unmoving body, expecting her to somehow, miraculously pop back into his life. And he found that when she didn't, he was highly disappointed. Sighing deeply, his head dropped to his arm.

Some seconds passed, how many, he wasn't sure of. But all time stopped when her hand began to move in his. His head flew up, and he searched her face for any movement. Seeing none, he figured that perhaps he'd only dreamt it happened. But seconds later, he heard what couldn't have been mistaken as a low moan come from her throat.

"Max?" he whispered unsurely. Her head moved a little and her eyes fluttered open and locked with his. "Max! Oh thank God!" Before Logan could restrain himself, his lips moved on hers. It was seconds later, but soon, she began to respond. Logan was so engrossed in the taste that was purely Max, he didn't hear the door to his room open and then close again. If he had, he surely would have run after the young blonde-haired girl who left his apartment in quite the hurry.

Logan pulled a few inches away and looked into Max's eyes. They were no longer the bright dancing orbs that he was used to, but now seemed dull and preoccupied. He attributed that to the fact that she'd just spent nearly three months in hell on earth. "Hey Beautiful," he smiled, "how you feeling?"

Max pulled herself stiffly and slowly to a sitting position against the headboard, and placed a palm against her forehead. "Like my brain's just been run over by a cement truck." She paused and looked confused for a moment. She opened her mouth as if to say something important, but closed it again without saying anything.

Logan knitted his eyebrows in worry. "What's the matter?"

Max only shook her head as she looked down at her hands. Logan gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "It's okay Max. You can ask me anything."

Max looked up at him expectantly. "Anything?"

He smiled reassuringly. "Anything."

"Ok," she replied, looking him in the eyes, and pausing for a moment before going on. "Who are you?"

post: Okay guys, sorry that took so long to get up. My one summer job has ended (it was a summer camp) and the paper I had to write for Mexico is finished and turned in, so I should have a little extra time on my hands. Enter Asha, yes, this is still the second season, I liked her character. She may have tried to steal Logan from Max, but it wasn't her fault she was a haughty little witch. Stay tuned.


	8. Chapter 8: Enlighten Me

Disclaimer: They're not really mine….ok, so they're not mine at all, but a girl can dream right?

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Timeframe: Post AJBAC

A/N: Ok, yes, beat me over the head with some huge blunt object, for I have been neglecting my authorly dues. I am so sorry fans of mine (few though you are). I'm back at school. So I go to class all day, then in the evenings I have work, then after that I have homework until about 1-2am when I pour myself into bed only to get up and do it all over again. But all of this has taught me that time-management is not just some random subject that teachers and parents bring up to bore you to death and make you look stupid. It is that very thing which has enabled me to continue with this story. I will never ever leave a fic unfinished. I completely understand how it can happen, but have a great intolerance for submerging myself in a story only to find it drops off at a crucial point. I have decided that I will devote at least half an hour every single day to working on my fics. Speaking of which, I have started a new story, which has also been taking up my time. I already have three chapters written, and I'm hoping to get it up on the net this week sometime. Anyway, enough of my senseless rambling. Onward with the story.

Chapter 8

Enlighten Me

Logan's eyes widened in surprise. "Max…it-it's me. Logan, remember?"

_Max…is that my name?_ Max cocked her head to the side, and stared at him intently. "No, I'm sorry, I don't. I mean, you look familiar…like I've seen you before and I know I _should_ remember, but I don't know where."

Logan sighed, and closed his eyes. "Do you remember anything?" he asked.

Max knitted her brow in thought. "I don't know," she replied, shaking her head. "It's not so much thoughts and images…but feelings…" she trailed off. "Everything in my head is a jumbled mess. I just-I can't think right now."

Logan nodded, still not fully understanding what was happening. _Well, of course. Fate doesn't come without a cruel sense of irony. That would just make life dull…_"Ok, you stay here and rest, I'm gonna go call my doctor."

Max settled back down into the mattress, and rested her head on the pillow, closing her eyes. Logan pulled the sheets up over her, and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. She winced slightly at the touch, and Logan reprimanded himself a second time for having been so inconsiderate.

Quietly, he stole out of the room, and retrieved his phone from it's holder on the table in his living room. Sam was listed under speed dial 4, and after three rings, he groggily spoke into the phone.

"Hello?"

"Sam? It's Logan."

"Why does this feel like déjà vu?" Sam remarked.

Logan almost wanted to smile, but then he remembered the reason for his call. "Listen, Max woke up."

"That's great!" Sam's elated voice carried over the receiver. "How is she?"

Logan took a deep shaky breath before admitting what he had wanted to deny for the past five minutes. "She can't remember anything."

Sam Carr waved his finger back and forth before the deep chocolate brown eyes before him. They followed steadily, and he took notes on his chart. Logan stood in the background watching anxiously.

Max also watched the doctor cautiously. She felt a slight buzz in her head, and seconds later, a flash before her eyes.

flashback

_Men in long white coats stood over her. A bright, blinding white light shone in her eyes. They were poking her; touching her with instruments she never knew existed. Why were they doing this to her? She just wanted to get away…_

_Then they were standing over him. The young boy, whose still lifeless body was displayed on the cold metal table before them…they were standing over him; they were hurting him…_

**_It's okay, he can't feel it,_**_ Max's inner voice reminded her as she looked on helplessly. **He can't feel anything ever again…**_

flashback ends

Max shivered noticeably, and Logan rushed to her side. "Are you okay, Max?"

"Yeah," she answered slowly, looking him in the eye. "Just something about doctors makes me uneasy." She turned to Sam with a quick "no offense".

"None taken," he replied with a small smile.

Logan looked at her carefully. "Yeah, you've never liked doctors Max. You refuse to go to one, and you won't even go to a hospital unless you or someone you know is near death," he joked, though that had happened before, more than once.

Max regarded him rather curiously. "Why?"

He pondered whether or not it was safe to tell her the truth, and decided to take the easy way out. For now. "Childhood fear," he responded vaguely, to which Max accepted at face value.

Finally Sam stood, and motioned for Logan to follow him out into the hallway, which he did.

"So what's the verdict?" the journalist asked almost fearfully.

"Well, it looks as though most of her wounds have healed. Some of her bruises are still a little tender, and she'll have to keep the splint on, probably for another couple of days, but it seems like she's at least gotten most of the feeling back in her fingers. I'm gonna give you some morphine to give her in case she complains of pain…"

Logan eyed him expectantly. "What about the whole memory thing?"

Sam sighed heavily. "Max…has amnesia," he said slowly.

Logan thought his heart would sink through the floor. "Why?" he asked, almost like a fearful child. "She remembered me in the car…"

"I don't know why Logan," the doctor answered him. "It could be from PTSD—"

"PTSD?" Logan cut him off before he even had the chance to explain.

"Yeah, post traumatic stress disorder. It can sometimes cause delayed amnesia. When a person has gone through a particularly traumatic ordeal, such as Max has, sometimes the mind shuts it out so that the body can continue to function physically. You know, like repressed memories. Only whatever she's gone through…was distressing enough that she's lost all of her memories."

He nodded thoughtfully. "When will she remember?"

"I don't know that either. Every person is different, and the brain is very complex. A lot of what we understand of brain illnesses like this is just speculation. Sometimes, the patient will remember within a few hours. Most of the time, within a week or so. But I won't lie to you Logan; there have been cases where the patient never gets their memory back." The look on Logan's face caused him to quickly add, "I'm not saying that's what's going to happen to Max. I might be completely wrong about this PTSD diagnosis. The amnesia could've been caused because she hit her head on something; it could've been a reaction to the cocktail I gave her. I don't know what she was given before you brought her here. There might've been some sort of chemical reaction between the two drugs, I don't know. It could've been anything. She's a strong girl, and I have every confidence that she'll make a full recovery. But I want you to be prepared in case she doesn't."

Logan swallowed hard. "Is there anything I can do to help her?"

Sam nodded. "The best thing you can do for her is to be there for her. Surround her with people she knows, but don't overwhelm her. Show her things. Things that you think may have been significant to her; sometimes that can jar a memory. But don't press it; if it doesn't pull anything, it's not going to; and you getting frustrated isn't going to help either of you. Talk to her; tell her about experiences you guys have shared. Memories that you have together. I know you have them," he added with a glint in his eyes.

Logan couldn't help the slight flush of color that hinted at his cheeks. "Anything else?"

Sam shook his head. "Not that I can think of at the moment. Try to keep her comfortable. I'll come back and check-in in a few days."

The two men shook hands, and after Logan thanked him profusely, Sam left. Logan turned towards the closed bedroom door, and approached it slowly.

"I just got you back, Max," he whispered softly. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you get away again." He placed his hand on the handle, and turned slowly. _Here goes everything…_

Renfro stood silently in front of the committee. It wasn't her fault that 452 had escaped. It was that bastard Deck…if she made it out of this, she was going to skin him alive. How dare he turn his back on Manticore?? Wasn't he the one who incessantly went on and on about the blood, sweat and tears he put into the program to make it the way it was. Well whatever, if he loved his project so much, she'd be damned if she'd stand back and take the fall for whatever problems arose. Of course, that would mean that she wouldn't be standing in front of the committee right now, being chewed out for his actions.

"So let me get this straight," the older gentleman stated as he paced in front of the director. "You don't have Eyes Only. You don't have 452, and you have no idea where Donald Lydecker is?"

"Not a clue, sir," Renfro answered truthfully. She hated being caught under the scrutinizing gaze of the committee. It made her feel open and vulnerable. She had of course been in this position before, but for nothing as big as this. Apparently, the committee was counting on her to get the information about Eyes Only out of 452. She had unwisely placed the burden on Lydecker's shoulders; believing that his extensive connection, training and knowledge of the X5s would give him an advantage where information gathering was concerned. Evidently, she'd been wrong. He had spent hours upon hours everyday with that girl for nearly the past two months, and got nothing. His failure had been her failure, and that was all the committee saw.

"Of course you don't," Pyre responded. He had a habit of pacing in front of his 'victims', as he liked to call them. It made them somewhat nervous and got the message across. This was only the third time Renfro had been said victim, and he almost wanted to be lenient. He knew of her work with the Manticore project. She had only been placed on it a few months ago, and he could already see promising results. But he knew the rest of the committee seated behind him wouldn't approve of his clemency. Finally, he stopped pacing and stood in front of the shorter woman. This had gone on long enough, and he was now late for a round of golf with the mayor. Either she got it, or she didn't. "The committee recognizes you for your thorough work on the Manticore project, and is pleased with your latest results. However, I'm sure you understand the urgency we have for the discovery of Eyes Only. If he reveals the location of the Gilette facility, billions of dollars of US government research and development will go straight down the porcelain septic tank. 452 has that information, and she is now out roaming the streets with it. Find her. Get the identity of Eyes Only, and bring Donald Lydecker to me." He paused. "If you don't, not only will you lose your status and placement with the Manticore project, but we will personally make sure you never work for this government again. Is that understood?"

Renfro took her punishment without emotion as she was taught, and gave a curt nod. "Yes sir," she replied.

"You have three days. Dismissed." Pyre turned and found his seat at the table of the committee, who all nodded to him in approval.

Renfro turned and left without saying another word. The door closed with a soft click behind her, and she strolled down the hall with only one thought on her mind. _I'll do more than bring Deck to the committee. I'll slice his head off myself, and serve it to them on a silver platter._ A grim smile crossed her lips as the doors of the elevator closed in her face. The colonel had just earned himself a spot at the top of her hit list…right below 452.

The door slowly creaked open, as Logan peered around it. He found Max resting peacefully. In a quick decision, he chose not to awake her, but instead headed toward the kitchen to make some breakfast.

As he stood over the stove, preparing the meal for her, his mind wandered to all the scenarios that had crossed his mind back when he didn't even know Max was alive. Back then, he had only suspected, and in his dreams, they had run to each other, and embraced, expressing long known secrets of love, and promising never to let each other go. Never did it cross his mind that Max might not remember him.

The smell of cinnamon wafted through the house, and Logan hoped it wouldn't draw Max to the kitchen. He wanted it to be a surprise. Quickly, he finished, and arranged everything on a tray. Slowly, he made his way back towards the room, and once again opened the door to find Max asleep. Gradually, he approached her bedside.

"Max," he whispered softly. "Are you awake?"

Max's eyes opened, and she looked up at him. "Oh, hey. What's goin on?"

Logan smiled. "I made you breakfast."

"You did?" Max smiled back. She wasn't sure why, but this was significant to her. Sitting up, she eyed the tray carefully as Logan placed it on her lap. The smile fell from her face as she realized what lay before her. Then she looked up at Logan, and spoke in a whisper. "You made me cinnamon buns…they're my favorite."

Logan knelt at her side, hoping not to look too hopeful. "You remember?"

Max looked away, and her eyes showed that her mind was actually very far away. "I remember the first time you made them for me. It was after…" she stopped. "After…I don't know. I can't remember," she sighed, hoping Logan wouldn't be able to read the frustration in her voice.

"It's okay, Max," his voice was no more than a murmur, but Max took every word to heart. "It's good that you remembered that. It means that you're still you inside, you're just lost. But I won't stop trying to help you until you're happy again."

Max smiled a little. "Thanks, it means a lot that you care."

Logan started to answer her, but the phone rang just then. He excused himself, and decided to take it in the living room, just in case Max could overhear.

"Hello?"

"What's up, Richie Rich?" came the familiar voice over the receiver.

"Oh, hey Cindy," he sighed. He was tired of explaining to her the lack of funds that his name now entailed.

"How's my boo?" she asked.

"Well, there's good news, and there's not-so-good news. Which one do you want first?"

"Gimme the good news, Original Cindy needs a little somethin-somethin to brighten up her day. Keep in mind she works for Normal." At which of course, Normal's voice could be heard yelling 'Bip bip bip' in the background.

"Ok," Logan laughed. "The good news is she woke up."

"She did?!" Cindy could barely contain herself. "I'm on my way over right now."

"NO!" he quickly objected. "Wait until after work. I think she might need her job back, and if you lose yours, whose gonna convince Normal to take her back?"

She was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "Aight," she finally answered, "but the minute I'm out of this hellhole, I'm headin over that way."

"Ok," Logan sighed, glad that she had fell for the bait. There was no way in hell he was letting Max go near Jam Pony again. Manticore probably already had the place on lockdown. But he felt as though he needed a little more time with Max before he let her see anyone else. Keeping in mind Sam's warning about overwhelming her, Logan was grateful that Max had remembered her favorite breakfast. He had hoped it would draw something out, but didn't want to seem disappointed if it didn't. If she didn't remember anything else, at least she recognized that he cared about her, and that was enough for now.

It was a minute before he realized that the other end of the line had went dead, and hung the phone up. Only then did he remember that he never got around to telling Max's best friend that she probably wouldn't remember her when she saw her, but he decided to worry about that later. He heard a small noise, and looked up to see Max standing a few feet away with the empty tray in her hands.

"Max! You scared the crap out of me. Why do you always sneak up on me?" came out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"I do?" Max inquired.

"Sorry, I'm a little on edge. Didn't get much sleep last night." Max stared at him blankly for a minute, and Logan tried to ignore his body's natural response to seeing the woman of his dreams dressed in his own t-shirt and boxers. "Ok, if you want to get a shower or whatever, you have clothes in the bottom two dressers of my bureau, and the bathroom's right there, so knock yourself out."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna go do some work at my laptop in the computer room. I'm a little behind, so playing catch-up is a definite must." He smiled. "All the widows, orphans and small animals will be waiting for me."

Max cocked her head to the side, one hand on her hip, and Logan smiled inwardly at the familiar stance. "What is it exactly that you do?"

A moment of hesitation ensued, and Logan looked toward the window. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her about Eyes Only just yet. He thought maybe that should be something that she should remember on her own. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but she might not really understand if he just divulged it to her. Not to mention the fact that knowing only put her in further danger.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that. You know, fight the power, protect the downtrodden—"

"Blah, blah, woof, woof?" Max blurted without thinking. For the second time that morning, Max felt a strange buzzing in her head.

flashback

_Max and Logan had just finished a game of chess, and sat chatting idly in his apartment. Max invited Logan to Crash to watch her in a stunt contest, but he declined._

_"Oh, I forgot. No fun for __Logan__ Cale," Max spat out sarcastically as she pulled on her coat. "Fight the power; protect the downtrodden, blah blah, woof woof." Then threw a 'see ya' over her shoulder as she breezed out the door._

_They sat together in his car. Max's heart was heavy in her chest. She didn't want to leave, how could she? How could she walk away and leave __Logan__ carrying a burden that wasn't even his?_

_"You could always ditch it all and go on the lam with me. Great way to visit exotic places; meet new people," she suggested. But once again, he declined._

_"I'd just slow you down." His face held a small smile, but his voice was deeply saddened as well._

_"It's okay," Max assured him, knowing that she would do whatever it took to make sure he stayed safe. Apparently he knew that as well._

_"I have to go back. Someone has to watch out for the downtrodden. Blah, blah, woof, woof, right?" Logan looked into her eyes, and at once, Max was almost at a loss for words._

_"Right," she whispered._

flashback ends

Logan took a step forward. "Max?" he questioned. _She remembered! She remembered something, I know she did…_ But Max slowly came back to reality, and began to step away from him. Much to Logan's great surprise, her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

"I didn't want to leave you Logan," she said, her voice barely loud enough for Logan to make out what she was saying. "Why couldn't you just come with me? Didn't you know I wanted you to?"

Logan froze in place. _Of course, she remembered running with Zack…_ "Max…I wanted to. I swear to you I did…but…the way I was back then…" Logan trailed off. If there was anything that he hoped Max wouldn't remember, it was his downward spiral of self-pity and despair that hit once he ended up in the chair. "I couldn't go with you. In the end, it would've gotten the both of us killed."

"I could've protected you. Why couldn't you just trust me?"

Her words hurt Logan more than she would ever know. And he was rendered speechless. Didn't she know that Logan trusted her with his life? He had proven so on more than one occasion. It would've helped if she'd remember that.

Max turned on her heel, and retreated into his bedroom, closing the door softly behind her. Logan wanted to follow her, but decided against it. Memories died harder than instincts, and Logan knew what Max tended to be like when people she either didn't know or didn't like tried to touch her. There would be other times he could comfort her, but for now, maybe she just needed to be alone. He wasn't sure what he would say anyway. How was he supposed to explain to her that his being in a wheelchair was more important than being with her? That wasn't necessarily how he felt, but at the time, it was very near the top of his priority list.

Logan sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair. He wouldn't give up one second of what he'd had with Max for the world, but reliving everything over again wasn't something that he was essentially looking forward to.

Post: I just want to say thank you thank you and thank you again to all of my reviewers. You guys are what keep me going, and I'm sorry I haven't been as faithful to you as you have been to me :-( Next chapter by next week…I hope.


	9. Chapter 9: It's All Coming Back To Me

Disclaimer: Right, so me and Charlie sat down last night and had a long, but serious, discussion. We came to the diplomatic conclusion that I would be insane to think that I own this no longer existent show. (though it exists in our hearts)

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Timeframe: Post AJBAC

A/N: Next chapter in a week? Is that what I said? Yeah…I think I lied. L. Sorry about that. But you're still gonna keep reading right?

_You'll never stand alone, I'll be standin by_

_I'll keep you from the cold; I'll hold you when you cry_

_I'll be there to be strong when you can't find the strength inside_

_And you, you'll always have a home, in these arms of mine_

_You'll never stand alone, love is standin by…_

_--"You'll Never Stand Alone" Whitney Houston_

Chapter 9

It's All Coming Back To Me

Max sat on the soft bed, propped up against the backboard by the down pillows. A million thoughts ran through her head, and none of them seemed to make any sense. And those that did make sense didn't have any type of order. Max wanted to regain her memory, but she knew that it was putting a strain on the relationship she had with Logan….whatever that may have been. She promised herself she would ask him later.

All the thinking made her head hurt, and in the end, she resolved to lying herself down again, and taking a short nap.

Logan's eyes were trained on his laptop, his fingers hit the keys, his hand controlled the mouse, but nothing he did was at any sort of conscious level. It was as though his entire body had retained muscle memory and was acting on auto pilot. His mind was on one thing and one thing only. Max.

Everything she had said to him made total sense. He should have gone with her. God knows he wanted to. She could have protected him. In fact, Logan was pretty sure she would have given her life for him, and he considered that a step in the right direction for someone who was genetically engineered to be an emotionless killing machine. If he hadn't been so caught up in his bubble of dejection, he would've noticed that she had wanted him to come. But back then, he was so sure that she was only asking him out of politeness. That thought quickly escalated into the feeling that she thought he couldn't handle living on his own…being in the chair and all. So he brushed off her invitation with some lame excuse about work. _Right…I'm sure that makes a girl feel wanted._

It was difficult for Logan to think objectively about something that had happened so many months ago, and so he decided to get his mind off the subject. He pulled away from his computer, and subconsciously headed towards his room.

When he opened the door, he was hit with the sight of Max, asleep soundly in his bed. It worried the journalist a little to see someone who usually needed so little sleep dream the day away, but maybe she was just making up for lost time. He quietly crossed the room to her side, and pulled the sheets up over her. _Maybe she'll feel better when she wakes up._ Logan pulled a sheet of paper from the top drawer of his bedside night table, and wrote Max a quick note.

_Max,_

_Ran to the store to grab some things for dinner. Help yourself to anything you need. Be back soon._

_Logan_

He put it on the night table, and taking a last glance at Max, left the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max's head was filled with misty memories and doubtful dreams. Her lack of recollection only served to further hinder her from distinguishing between the two. In her sleep, she tossed and turned, a thin sheet of sweat covered her forehead. Try though she might, she couldn't wake up…

_Running…running through the dark…being chased…faster…they were after her…she'd never go back…a thunderous crack as the ice broke…wind knocked out…can't breathe…icy grave…_

_Her dress fit like a glove…the setting was perfect…he was perfect…nothing mattered more than their being together…dancing to music that only they could hear…Sibelius…it's so sad…_

_Standing at attention for hours on end…State your designation!...My name is Max!...can't stand up…need food, need water…need help…__Logan__ where are you…_

Max sat straight up in bed, her breathing slightly erratic. "What the hell was that?" she gasped.

-------------------------------------------------

Logan juggled the grocery bags in his arms as he searched his pockets for the keys to his penthouse apartment. He finally located them and made his way into the abode, pushing the door closed with his foot. He made a pit stop in the kitchen to drop off the groceries before deciding to check on Max.

Peeking his head through the door, he took note that the bed was empty, but that the door to his bathroom was shut, and the muffled sound of running water could be heard. _She must be in the shower_. Logan quickly turned and left, wanting to avoid any awkward situations that might arise if she came out and caught him at his door. Returning to the kitchen, he made a spur of the moment decision on an early dinner and decided to get started.

Cindy would be there soon, and he could only imagine the 'smackdown' that would ensue, following his rushed explanation of Max's memory loss of course.

---------------------------------------------------

Renfro stared at the screen of the television before her. The clear, crisp blue eyes hiding behind the mask of red, white and blue mocking her.

_Damn you, Eyes Only…I will find out who you are, and when I do, I promise, there will be hell to pay._ She flicked the TV off, and turned quickly in her chair at the knock on her door. For one split second, she almost thought it might be her old commissary Lydecker, but that dream evaporated in smoke when she came back to reality. Deck would have to be the biggest idiot in the world to walk right back into her lap after everything that had happened. The director knew finding him would prove to be a challenge, but it was one worthy of her direct attention.

It took her a moment, after she snapped from her reverie, to realize that whoever was behind her door had been knocking incessantly for the past thirty seconds or so.

"For God's sake, come in already!" she spat.

The door opened, and in walked a guard. He saluted her.

"Ma'am, we have report from the border of Washington. Colonel Lydecker has been spotted."

Renfro's face immediately erupted into a smile. "Well, that's the best news I've heard all day."

-------------------------------------------------------

Lydecker sat waiting patiently behind the steering wheel of the Durango, watching as the guard spoke into his walkie and threw looks at him here and there. If he focused his hearing, he could listen to what was going on…

"Negative," he heard Renfro's voice, "let him pass."

_Let me pass? She probably thinks she's locking me in a smaller area. Doesn't she know that I could lose myself in the state of __Washington__ just as easily as I could the rest of the __United States_

The soldier finally approached him, ignoring the relentless honking of the cars in the line which had grown behind him.

"Sorry about that sir, you're free to go," he said, handing Deck his pass back.

"It's okay son," the older man addressed him with an air of understanding. "You were just following orders." With that, he pulled off and quickly headed toward Seattle. _This is it…no more foul-ups…if Manticore doesn't go down, we're all going to die trying._

--------------------------------------------------------

Max and Logan sat through dinner with light conversation, and no interruptions. He thought that they might actually be able to get through the night with no problems when the door to his apartment banged open.

"Where's my Boo?" came a loud voice through the kitchen.

A wave of panic hit Logan when he realized he had forgotten all about Original Cindy. That smackdown that he had been contemplating earlier was closer to the horizon than it had ever been. He knew he ought to intercept. So he got up from the table, ignoring the bewildered look that crossed Max's face, and headed into the kitchen.

Cindy was barreling her way through on the way to the dining room. Logan held out a hand to stop her.

"Where's Max?" Cindy asked, her voice filled with anticipation.

"She's in the dining room. We were having dinner."

"Oh, did I interrupt something?" she asked with a knowing smile on her face.

_Yeah, right. I wish…_ "No, it's just, there's something I think you oughta know before you go see her."

The tough girl eyed him with suspicion, waiting for him to continue.

He took a deep breath and started. "Max doesn't—"

And of course, the X5 spoken of chose that moment to come into the room to see what all the commotion was about.

"Max!" Cindy exclaimed.

Max's eyes widened a little in recognition. "Cindy," she whispered. Max's best friend dropped her bag on the floor, and crossed the room in two seconds flat to wrap her in a big, bear hug.

Logan stood and watched the scene before him with interest…oh, and pain.

"Max," he whispered. "You remember her?"

Max looked at him with a little smile, not fully understanding the implications of what she was about to say to him. "She's my best friend."

He stood speechless. Every word cut through him like a warm knife through butter. "I see," he whispered.

OC looked back and forth between the two. "Is there somethin' ya'll wanna share with Original Cindy, cuz right now, she's feelin' like she's in the middle of the Twilight Zone."

"Max has temporary amnesia." Logan answered her. "Well we hope it's temporary anyway." His voice was a monotonous drone, that wouldn't allow any of the hurt he was experiencing to show through.

"But she remembered me…" Cindy cut herself off, knowing she was going down the wrong path.

"Obviously." He turned and left the room without another word.

"What's eatin him?" Max finally spoke up.

Her best friend turned to look at her. "You don't remember Logan?" she asked her seriously.

The transgenic shook her head. "I thought he might be my brother, but after the way he kissed me, that was definitely out." Original Cindy raised an eyebrow at that. "Then I thought he might be my husband, but neither of us is wearing any wedding rings. I don't know what to think. Why isn't he happy that I remembered you? He's been dying for me to remember something since I woke up."

"I'm sure he is happy, Boo," Cindy answered her, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her to the empty couch in the living room. "It's just…you and Logan were kinda close. And I think maybe he's a little disappointed that you remembered me, and not him."

It suddenly dawned on Max, and her face gave recognition of it, then showed a hint of anger. "Yeah, but that's not my fault. I didn't ask not to remember him." She sighed. "How close exactly were we?"

Cindy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Boo, the only people who know that are you two…well, I guess just him now that you don't remember."

Max's face fell.

"Don't let it discourage you though. He says it's just temporary, so we'll just have to hope that you remember before the man drives himself crazy." Seeing her best friend smile a little at that, she decided to change the subject, and held out her fist. "So, we still cool?"

The young girl smiled at her, and bumped Cindy's fist with her own. "Like the other side of the pillow."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logan sat sulking in his computer chair for what felt like the zillionth time since Max woke up. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just be happy knowing that something had brought Max happiness? Maybe because he was being selfish. Maybe because he had wanted that 'something that brought Max happiness' to be him. Fate had determined that it wasn't going to work out that way. Go figure. So now he sat, staring at his computer screen, trying desperately to drown out the sound of Max and Cindy's laughter which floated through the door to him from the living room.

It wasn't until he his train of thought had led him down the track to the realization that he hadn't exactly told Cindy that he didn't want her revealing any secrets to Max. That being Eyes Only, Manticore, or otherwise. _Right, whatever you have to tell yourself to convince you that you're not just jealous and disappointed that Max remembered Cindy and not you…_Logan sat up straight in his chair, trying to figure out a way to get Cindy out of the apartment, without causing too much trouble. He didn't want to kick her out; she was still a friend after all, but Logan didn't want her scaring Max. _Wow…scaring Max…that's the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard._ His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his doorbell, and he quickly sprung to his feet, wondering who could be visiting.

He strolled through his apartment, not necessarily avoiding Cindy and Max, but not looking at them as he passed either, before throwing the door open.

Before him stood Bling, a smile plastered on his face.

"Hey buddy," he said, pushing past Logan softly to get in the house. "Came by to check on the status of our patient. How's she doing?"

Logan made a motion towards the living room where Cindy and Max sat watching the two men.

"Hey Cindy, hey Max, how you doing?" the therapist greeted them.

"I'm okay," she replied. "Cindy just came by to visit."

"Yeah, but I was just bout to leave," OC spoke up, disregarding the look of surprise that Max gave her. "These two need to talk," she addressed Bling.

Logan who had been standing, watching silently finally spoke up. "Cindy, that's not necessary. You don't have to leave."

"Oh, yes I do. And so does Bling." She turned and began to pull him by his shirt towards the door. "Let's go Bling."

"But I just got here…" he protested.

"Will you guys at least come by for lunch tomorrow?" Logan asked quickly. "I thought we could all sit down together. You know, just relax."

"Yeah, we'll be there," Max's best friend answered for both of them, while still tugging a grumbling Bling out the penthouse door. She stopped before exiting, and turned to her two friends. "Ya'll two better work this out, otherwise, Ima lay a 100 original smackdown on your collective asses. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Got it?"

They nodded numbly, and Original Cindy and Bling left the apartment.

Logan turned towards Max, hardly able to believe that they'd been left alone again in the apartment. For some reason, it was different this time. Awkward. Neither he nor Max looked at the other for a few minutes before they both decided to start simultaneously.

"Logan—"

"Max—"

They laughed a little, and it seemed to ease the tension. Logan sat down on the couch, near, but not too close to her. "You first," he suggested.

She smiled at him. "Was it always like this?" she wondered tilting her head at an angle.

Logan knitted his eyebrows. "How?"

"Awkward."

He seemed to think on that for a while. "No," he finally replied. "Not always."

Max laughed a little, before sobering once again. "You know, I really am sorry that I don't remember you. I wish I could. I don't know, I just have this feeling…" she trailed off.

"What feeling?" he wondered aloud.

She looked him in the eye. "That you're very important to me."

Logan didn't reply, but instead raised his hand to rest on her cheek. "I know what you mean," he whispered back after a moment of silence. He leaned forward, only slightly, not wanting to startle her, and to his pleasant surprise, she did also.

His touch was like electricity on her skin, and Max found herself being able to think of nothing other than the intense blue of his eyes, and the soft male scent that emanated off him. They drew closer, neither wanting to rush, but both feeling a sense of impatience at the agonizingly slow progress towards the long awaited contact.

Max could almost feel his lips on hers. They were centimeters away. His breath was warm and accelerated, and she knew hers was too. How had he made her feel this way before they'd even made contact? Her eyes started to droop. They were close…so close…

"It's good to see you up and about, baby sister."

_Damn it._ The magic of the moment broken, Logan sat up straight and kept his eyes closed for a moment longer before turning to his intruders. When he opened them, the two X5s were gazing at him and Max with something like amusement in their eyes.

"Krit, Syl." _Of course…Manticore always finds a way to ruin the perfect moment. Purposely or not._

Max watched the young girl and boy before her. They couldn't have been much older than her. Yet, they were looking at her as though they knew her. _Do I know them?_ She watched them closely, trying at the same time to seem as though she wasn't staring. It hit her full blast…

_Training…in the snow, in the rain, in the sun…in the light, in the dark…solo…as a team._

_Run, run, run, as fast as you can…you'll never get away from Manticore…seizures… Jack…can't hold breath any longer, lungs are gonna burst, they won't let us up… Jack, Tinga, Ben, Zane, Zack, Krit, Syl, Jondy…Eva…death surrounding her, as she fought her icy grave, all the while her mind repeating the same mantra- '**I knew splitting up was a bad idea…'**_

Max approached her brother and sister slowly, before wrapping them in a hug. "Are you guys okay?" she stared at them with concern. "I haven't seen you in forever. Zack wouldn't give me the contact number."

Syl raised an eyebrow. "Max we've only been gone—" she cut herself off when out of the corner of her eye, she caught Logan shaking his head vigorously. _Ok, what the hell is going on?_ She didn't however elaborate on what she had been thinking. Logan on the other hand, interrupted before she could get another word out.

"Max, what do you remember?" he held his breath, waiting for the answer. His knife had been stabbed through for the second time that night. Max had memories triggered by the sight of both her best friend, and then her brother and sister. But seeing him had no affect on her. He let out his breath when Max's answer finally registered in his brain.

"I remember Manticore."

Post: I just wanna thank all my readers and reviewers…you're wonderful. If I could email a hug, I would…but the electrical impulses might not display it the way I want…so we'll just stick to words. You guys rock!

Oh, and get this. Guess what I've decided to be for Halloween? An X5! Fatigues, barcode and all. It's always more expensive than it sounds…


	10. Chapter 10: Almost Within Reach

Disclaimer: See, I used to own them right. But then, what had happened was, Charlie and Jimmy gave me this great settlement, and so I sold them back for like a bazillion dollars. What an idiot I was…

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: So I updated a little sooner this time. Are you proud of me? The onslaught of reviews is what helped. Need I say more? BTW, thanks for the reviews! It means a lot that you guys are stickin with me to the end…which isn't too far off by the way.

Chapter 10

Almost Within Reach

"Um…okay. Pardon my French, but what the _hell_ is going on here?" Syl regarded the two people before her as though they were strangers she'd just seen on the street.

Logan stood silently, part of him still lost in his own thoughts, the other part simply afraid to confront an angry X5…a situation of which could quickly escalate into a battle for his life. Praying that Krit would interfere if need be, he plunged head first into the story for what was felt to be the fiftieth time that day.

"Max has amnesia." He was beginning to feel that every time he said it, it was more and more real. _Max has amnesia…she might not ever remember me…I might never find out how she really felt about me, before all this happened…she might never be the same…_ All of the mights were starting to drive the normally considerably sane journalist to the loony bin.

Syl's stance tensed even more. "Say that again?"

"He said she has—" Krit started to answer.

"No, I heard what he said," Syl cut him off. "I'm just hoping that doesn't mean what I think it means."

"Well, sweetie, Max doesn't remember anything. How many different meanings could that possibly have?" Krit was slow in his speech, as though explaining calculus to a six-year-old.

Syl immediately turned her glare on him. "You, sir, are skating on ice a quarter of an inch thick. I would watch my step if I were you." The X5 held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, and took a few steps back. Max's sister turned back to her, realizing that she hadn't really said anything since Logan revealed her little problem. "Is this true Max?" she asked her, still not wanting to fully believe it.

Max looked away, but nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Could this possibly happen at a worse time? If Manticore wasn't seeking us out before, which I know they were, they _definitely _are now. We really need to get back in there, and shut their system down…and we need all of us to be at 100." Syl wanted to scream, but found she couldn't. Instead, she sank down onto the couch and held her head in her hands, tendrils of her straight blonde hair falling around her cheeks, hiding her face from view. Krit sat next to her, and laid a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Don't touch me," she spat out tersely without looking at him.

Logan took pity on the boy, regretting his earlier hope that Syl's anger would be turned towards him. The poor boy probably had enough problems. Being in a relationship with her in all probability meant being the brunt of her warpath more than occasionally.

"Krit, why don't you come help me out with something in the computer room. We can leave the girls to talk. Maybe Syl can help Max remember something." His heart wrenched at his last statement, but his voice showed no change of emotion.

Krit silently rose and followed Logan out of the room, leaving the two sisters alone to their thoughts.

------------------------------------------------

Max turned to her sister as soon as the two men left the room. "I'm sorry, Syl. I'm a liability."

Syl turned to the younger girl. "No, Max," she insisted. "This isn't your fault. It's just…Manticore's already had you in their possession twice—"

Max interrupted her. Her face a mask of disbelief. "I got caught?!"

Syl didn't answer her, but seemed to be going through some memories of her own. When she did finally speak, her voice was but a soft whisper. "We went on our own mission: take down Manticore. But it went sideways, and you and Zack got caught. Look, Max, I don't know exactly what went on in there. But whatever it was, it even had Lydecker on edge. Maybe it's better that you don't remember."

Max looked down at the now barely visible cuts and bruises that had lined her arms. She had wondered about them when she woke up, but was afraid to ask Logan where they had come from. She vaguely remembered a wrap being on her wrist, but thought nothing of it, as the next time she awoke, it was no longer there. He must have removed it while she slept. "No, Syl. I have to remember. I had a life. Manticore did this to me. They took it away from me. They took Logan away from me. I can't even remember who he is. Do you know how much that hurts me? How much it hurts him? I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to run anymore. I don't want to hide anymore. Manticore has to pay. And this time, we're not taking any prisoners, and neither are they."

The blonde X5 gazed at her sister with what could only be described as love and respect, and then she smiled. "Still as stubborn as ever I see. Apparently losing your memory has absolutely no side effect on your attitude."

Max gave her a cocky grin. "Are you kidding me? The bitch is here to stay."

Syl couldn't help but laugh. "Krit!" she shouted toward some arbitrary point in the apartment. "Let's move!" She turned back to Max. "We'll be back baby sister. Don't go causing any trouble until then."

"Me? Trouble? Whatever gave you that idea?" Max protested, with an evil glint in her eye.

At that moment, Krit emerged from the back hallway. He bent down to give Max a hug. "Sorry I didn't get to talk to you much Max. It seems like every time we run into each other, we never get a moment to ourselves. But I'm glad you're back in the land of the conscious. And I'll see ya soon. I promise."

Max gave him a soft smile. "Stay out of trouble big brother."

He nodded, just as Logan appeared behind him. "Hey guys, I figured since I'm already having guests for lunch tomorrow, maybe you'd like to join us."

Krit, hearing nothing but the word 'lunch', was ready to accept, but Syl beat him to the punch. "Thanks, Logan, but Krit and I have some real important things we have to take care of." Krit started to protest, but one look from Syl had him scowling to himself in silence. "We will be by tomorrow though. It just won't be until later."

Logan nodded in understanding, before tossing them a set of keys. "This is to a safe house I had open on Bridger's Road. It hasn't been lived in for a while, so it might be a little dusty, but I figured it'd be better than sleeping outside."

Syl's grin reached her eyes. "Thanks." It was all that was said before the two X5s left once again, leaving Max and Logan alone.

Max turned to look up at Logan. She smiled a little, and patted the seat on the couch next to her. "So…where were we?"

99.9 percent of Logan's body screamed for him to sit down next to Max and continue right where they'd left off. But then, there was that still, small 0.1 percent that was angry, bitter and jealous of Max's recent discoveries and newfound happiness with her friends and family. Instead of being the rational, reasonable journalist he had spent his life yearning to become, he let his irrational side take over.

"You know, Max, maybe we better just turn in for the night," he spoke monotonously.

A flash of hurt passed through Max's eyes visibly, and Logan instantly regretted his words. But she shrugged it off. "Ok, whatever. You can go ahead. I think I'm gonna stay up for a while. Then maybe I'll just crash in the guest room."

Rational Logan screamed at irrational Logan all the way back to his bedroom. He called himself every obscenity in the book, not fully comprehending when his language had become so colorful, he figured that he must've been spending too much time around Original Cindy. Mindlessly stripping down to his boxers, he crawled between the sheets of his freshly made bed, almost getting up to thank Max for changing his sheets, and fell into a fitful rest.

------------------------------------------

Max sat on the arm of the chair, staring out into the darkness. It had begun to rain again, which was fine with her, because she felt like crying anyway, though she didn't know why. But no, she wouldn't cry. If Logan wanted to act like an ass, then that was fine with her. She wasn't going to drag herself down wondering what had made him so recently distant. She had other things to worry about. Like how she was going to get back at her creators for their contribution in this sardonic frightmare that she called a life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tension ran high early in the morning. Logan opened his eyes, and groaned despite himself as he remembered the events of the night before. He could hear the shower running in his room, and wondered vaguely why Max had chosen to use the bathroom in his room as opposed to the one down the hallway. He was about to get up, throw on some pants, and head to the kitchen to start breakfast and avoid any embarrassment when the water shut off, and the door to his bathroom opened. There stood Max, dripping from head to toe, wrapped in nothing but his sorry excuse for a fluffy towel.

Max's breath caught in her throat when she saw Logan sitting on his bed in only a pair of thin black silk boxers. She wanted to look away, excuse herself before she caused any further damage to both of their egos, but her smooth demeanor wouldn't allow it.

"I never took you for a black silk person," slipped out before she could stop herself.

"Really?" he questioned, unconsciously allowing his eyes to slowly travel from her head to her toes, and then back up to her eyes.

Max felt a rush of heat flow through her when she noticed the way Logan looked at her. They held eyes for a long moment, neither one able to look away. Then as one, they spoke.

"I need to get dressed."

Max hurriedly left the room, and Logan let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Whatever happened, he had the distinct feeling that today would be a day to remember.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The television flicked off, and Max put the remote on the coffee table. She hadn't spoken to Logan since after the shower incident. He'd made breakfast, and she'd eaten, but no words were exchanged. Max found she couldn't even look him in the face, though she wasn't sure why. Something between them had changed, and she knew that further changes were to come, but she wasn't sure if she should be afraid or glad for them. The sexual tension was driving her bonkers. She decided that she'd had enough of Logan's childish games. If he wouldn't be up front with her, at least she would be up front with him. Though she couldn't remember many parts of it, Max knew that her relationship with Logan was special. It had to have been, with the way she caught him sneaking looks at her. She worked up her nerves, and began to head toward the kitchen where she knew he stood making lunch for Bling, Cindy, her and himself.

Halfway there, a wave of dizziness passed over her. She stumbled a little, knocking into a table and spilling the vase of flowers that it held onto the floor. Logan immediately came forward from the kitchen.

"Max!" he exclaimed. "What happened? Are you okay?" His voice was filled with concern, and Max would have commented on it had she not been feeling like hell.

"I don't know," she whispered. A familiar sense washed over her, and a wave of dread as she realized what was happening. Before she could tell Logan to get her some tryptophan, her body dropped in a fit of shakes. Thinking quickly, Logan rushed forward and caught her. He lifted her small frame, and placed her on the couch. Retrieving a syringe of liquid tryptophan from the bathroom that Sam had left in his care, he carefully injected it into Max's arm, praying that it began to work soon. He knelt at her side, and took her hand in his.

"Max. Max can you hear me?"

Through her drug induced haze, Max heard Logan's voice and turned to look at him, her body still wracked with the quakes.

"Logan," she managed, though her mouth felt dry.

"What can I do Max?" he asked helplessly, as he watched her fight for control of her extremities.

"Stay with me, please."

"I'm right here," he whispered, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

"You won't leave?" she questioned, feeling the same.

"I'm not going anywhere," he reassured her.

From somewhere, deep in the back of Max's genetically engineered brain came a memory…

_Flashback_

_The quivers slammed through Max's nerves spouting uncontrollable trembles through her limbs. __Logan__ rolled his chair beside her._

_"What can I do?" he asked, his blue eyes clouded with concern for her._

_"Stay with me please," she barely managed through her chattering teeth._

_"I'm right here." He never missed a beat._

_"You won't leave?" She had been left alone so often. No one knew about her seizures. Not if she could help it. So that meant often, she was left to ride the roller coaster of hell alone on the cold tile of the bathroom floor. All she really wanted was to be able to let her guard down. To let someone else take care of her for once._

_"I'm not going anywhere." __Logan__ knew he wouldn't leave her side even if aliens came crashing through his window. He was going to stay right where his chair was parked until Max was able to get up and walk away from him on her own._

_And stay there he did._

_End Flashback_

Logan watched as Max's body finally began to calm down resulting from the effects of the tryptophan, and she drifted off to a restful sleep. He watched her serene features, as her chest slowly rose and fell. She looked so much younger than she really was in her sleep, as though the cover-up of attitude was reserved for when her mind was fully conscious and functioning. The attitude she felt she needed to flash at the rest of the world to let them know she meant business, and she wasn't taking smack from anybody. Logan smiled to himself as he thought of how often she threw that attitude towards him. Maybe she was hoping that it would push him away. If only she knew that it just made him love her all that much more.

It was in watching her sleep that he realized that it didn't matter if Max never remembered who he was. As long as she was safe and happy, then he would be also. Suddenly, a rancid odor filled his nostrils, and he realized as he dashed to the kitchen with a flash of panic that he had left the lunch on the stove.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bling boarded the elevator, his mind completely off in the distance. So much so that he barely heard the 'Hold the elevator!' that someone shouted from across the lobby. When the person stepped in, he looked at her in surprise.

"Original Cindy."

"The one and only. What's up Boo?"

"Nothin," he laughed. "Just wonderin what exactly Logan decided to make us for lunch."

"I feel you," she responded. "I overslept, and was almost late for work. Rather than hearin it from Stormin Normal, I skipped breakfast and right about now, Original Cindy is starvin like Marvin."

Bling laughed heartily at her anecdote, and the elevator opened to the Penthouse floor. He held the door, allowing her to step through first, and they both approached the apartment.

--------------------------------------------------

Max awoke slowly, the grogginess keeping her from remembering exactly where she was. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting in the ray of sun that shone down on her from the window. It was then that she remembered. She'd had a seizure, and Logan had promised to stay with her. But she wasn't on the couch anymore. She now realized that she was back in his bed. The satin sheets smooth and soft against her skin. She looked down and noticed that Logan hadn't left her side. He was asleep, his head rested on his arm as he leaned halfway on the bed, one of her hands grasped tightly in his own.

She smiled down at him. A feeling growing in her that was only slightly familiar. Without thinking, she reached and slowly ran her fingers through his hair, making it stand on end.

"Well now isn't that just the Kodak picture?" Bling's voice shook Max from her trance.

Her head snapped up to look at him and she snatched her hand back as though she'd touched a hot griddle. Beside Bling stood Original Cindy, shaking her head with a smirk on her face.

"Tell me about it. Original Cindy is all but wonderin where her camera is right now."

Max's cheeks reddened. "Hey guys." She shook Logan's shoulder. "Logan, wake up. Our 'guests' are here," she hissed at him.

Logan groaned, and sat up slowly, his glasses askew, and his hair flattened to the side of his head. His eyes focused on Max, and he gave a soft smile. Then he followed her line of view to the doorway, and noticed his two friends watching him in amusement. Immediately, he began straightening himself.

"Oh, hey. You guys are a little early aren't you?"

Original Cindy laughed, deciding that her friends had been through enough torture for the day. "We just wanna eat Moneybags. Can we get some food please?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bling looked at Max closely as they sat at the table. "Max are you okay? You look a little pale."

Max just shook her head as if to say it was nothing. "I had a seizure earlier." Cindy and Bling exchanged a look. "But I'm fine now," she quickly added. "Sam left some liquid tryptophan here, and it worked pretty well."

"Well, if you're sure you're okay…"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I promise," she replied distractedly. Not wanting to continue the conversation further, she looked away.

Logan brought the last two plates of soup and the bowl of breadsticks to the table.

"This is what we're havin?" Cindy looked at the bowls skeptically. "Original Cindy could've opened a can of Campbell's in her own apartment."

"Don't be fooled Cindy," Logan smiled at her. "This isn't Campbell's. It's my mother's own recipe. It's ten times better, I promise."

She shrugged, and began to eat slowly. He sat down next to Max, and began to eat also. Everyone just enjoyed the silence and comfort brought from each other's company. It was a few minutes before Logan looked up and noticed that Max hadn't touched her food. He put his spoon down and looked at her.

"Max are you okay?" he asked, his face full of worry.

Slowly, the X5 turned to look at him. She gazed directly into his eyes for a moment before softly whispering.

"Were we in love?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Post: Already workin on the next chapter. Hopefully, it'll be up soon. Until then, hang on to your seats. Thanks much

Angie731


	11. Chapter 11: Back Into the Swing of Thing...

Disclaimer: Once upon a time, I never owned them…so there.

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Hey hey hey, fic-readers (is that even a word?) Here's another update. Think I'm gonna be winding this one down in a couple more chapters, maybe two or three. (yeah right, I say that all the time right) Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 11

Back Into the Swing of Things

"Were we in love?"

The question hung in the air. Cindy froze with her spoon halfway to her mouth; Bling sputtered as he choked on the mouthful he had already taken. OC gathered her wits about her enough to give him a couple slaps on the back, and then they both turned silently to Max and Logan across the table.

They sat staring at each other. Both not believing what had just been asked. But Logan spoke first.

"Max, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking?"

"It's not that hard Logan, there's only two possible answers," she tried, her eyes never leaving his, her voice soft but the silence of the room had it speaking volumes. "I just want the truth."

Logan sighed, not sure how to answer. "Well, Max, we—we were—um—we—we"

"Ya'll were in denial," Max's best friend finally broke in.

"Original Cindy!" Bling turned to her. "Ok, this time, it's gonna be me saying who stays and who leaves. And we're leaving." He stood up from his chair, motioning that she do the same, which she did after grabbing a handful of breadsticks. The two of them left, barely being noticed by the couple who continued the seemingly endless staring contest, as though if one looked away, the spell would be broken. So they sat, the two of them, drowning in the massive sea of each other's eyes. It was a while before Logan finally spoke again.

"Do you mean 'we' as in collectively?"

Max almost laughed. It was actually kinda amusing to see him squirm for some reason, but her voice spelled only exasperation. _Why can't he just answer the question?_ "Logan, how hard is it to just tell the truth?"

"Well that depends on how well you know it," he answered back, his voice barely above a whisper.

"And that's supposed to mean…?"

"That means…I don't really know how you felt about me." He paused for a moment, wondering if the answer sounded plausible, even to him. "You died before you had the chance to tell me."

Max turned away so he couldn't see the disappointment that crossed her face. She decided to overlook the comment on her death for a moment. There had been hopes for a straight answer, thinking maybe she could actually start to move forward in this vicious game everyone called life.

"Oh," was her only answer. It was a moment before she could compose herself enough to turn and look at him. "Well, if I died, then why am I here?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't really know that either. I don't know how you survived…I thought I had lost you, and I almost didn't survive."

Max suddenly didn't need an answer to her question. The look in his eyes spoke volumes.

"I'm sorry, Max. I wish I had more answers for you, but I don't."

"That's okay," she assured him, before standing and grabbing her coat. "Thanks anyway."

"Where you goin?"

"I think I'm gonna go hang with Cindy for a little while. You know, clear my head."

"Ok, I guess," he began uncertainly. "She's at—"

"Jam Pony? Yeah, I know. I'll just hook up with her there, and then maybe we'll head to Crash or something. See ya later?" It was more a question than anything.

"Yeah," Logan responded. "I'll be here. I'm not goin anywhere."

She nodded, and turned to go.

"Max, wait." Logan's voice seemed insistent, and Max whirled to face him immediately. Suddenly, he was only inches away. "Here." He pressed something into her palm. "I got this for you. Keep it on."

Max nodded, and shrugged into her coat, before turning without saying another word, and leaving the apartment. Logan was left sitting alone, wondering how his world had gone so wrong.

Max stepped into the elevator, and looked down at the small object in her hand. She flipped it open, and a little welcome screen displayed. _How practical._ She smiled to herself as the elevator began its descent to the ground floor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bip Bip Bip people! Time is work, work is money, and money is what you won't have if you don't get your sorry butts into gear! Let's move!" Normal tossed a somewhat oddly shaped package at one of the riders as he passed by. "Here, hot run."

Sketchy just barely caught it before turning to Normal. "I'm on my lunch break."

"Did you eat your lunch?"

"Well yeah, but I still have—"

"Then your break is over," Normal cut him off. Sketchy sighed, and turned to head to the bike rack to obtain some broken down form of transportation. "Where the firetruck is Cindy?"

At just that moment, Cindy sauntered through the door and right up to the counter. "_Original_ Cindy is right here, your Highness. Don't your get your royal panties in a bunch."

Normal merely looked at her over the rims of his glasses. "You're late."

"What can I say? It takes time to look this good."

"Do you want to continue to work here?"

She merely rolled her eyes but didn't comment. "What do you got for me?"

Her boss held out a small package for her. "163 Queen Helen's Drive."

Cindy turned it over in her hands and examined it. "Is it a hot run?"

Sketchy, who had been listening in on the conversation, rode over on his newly acquired bike, and whispered quickly to her, "It's Normal. Everything's a hot run." Then he rode off.

"I heard that! And read the sign, there's no riding indoors!" Normal shouted after him as Original Cindy walked away, and then began muttering to himself. "Illiterate imbeciles…"

"Miss me?" came a voice from in front of him. He looked up to see Max standing there with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Well, look who's decided to grace us with her presence. If it isn't the Master of Slacking herself."

"That's chill, Normal. I'm not too fond of you either, so it works out both ways." Max replied, keeping the smile on her face. "Got a hot run for me?"

The man scoffed and pushed his glasses up on his face, tilting his head to the side. "Surely you jest with me. You think you can just not show up to work for three months straight, and then stroll in here one day like you're God's great gift to Seattle, cheesin like there's no tomorrow and think you're just gonna pick up where you left off? Did they fry your brain wherever you went?"

Max hid the surprise she felt behind her perfectly emotionless mask as she had been taught. _Three months?!_ "Look Normal—"

"Go ahead," he interjected her, "insult my intelligence."

"You know what? I was the best rider you ever had. Don't even try to deny it. This place has fallen to ruins without me. Now if you wanna stay in business, you can either take me back or you can hire three more people, which means three more paychecks, and still only half the work."

For once, Normal didn't disagree, and was speechless for a moment. "Fine, but you're on permanent probation. One step out of line and you're out of here."

_Yeah, sure, whatever._ Max took the package from his hands, and turned to walk away.

"Hey Cindy."

Original Cindy looked up from tying her shoes. "Oh, hey Max." She returned to her previous activities before realizing who it was. "Max?! What are you doing here? What happened?"

"Nothing happened," she replied.

"You aight?"

"Yeah, I'm straight."

Cindy wanted to go further into it, but decided against it, and instead stood, taking her package with her, and offered to deliver packages with her homegirl, who readily accepted.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max and Cindy rolled through the front door of Jam Pony. Max stopped and hopped off her bike.

"Yo, OC we're inside," she called, signaling for her friend to do the same, but Cindy merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Come on, I just got rehired. I can't get fired again, then the only thing I'd have to do would be sit around Logan's apartment and stare at the walls as I try desperately to recall the last year of my life."

Her best friend didn't reply, but sighed and got off the bike all the same. Max shook her hair loose of the stray drops of rain which had begun to fall outside, and slammed her locker shut.

"Know what I need?" Cindy suddenly asked her.

The response came to Max's mind from the depth of nowhere. "A pitcher of beer?"

"You know it my sistah," OC replied, and the two of them headed off towards Crash.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max followed Cindy, and they stopped at Max's old apartment. Max climbed the stairs slowly. For some reason, though she didn't know why, part of her had half expected that things had changed in her absence. The other part of her was simply happy to finally be recognizing things. It was as though someone had partially opened the floodgates to her memory. It seemed the more she did, the more she remembered, and she hoped that soon she would just be able to remember it all. Cindy turned the key in the lock, and the door opened. Max strode in and looked around. The first thing she noticed was standing in the corner, and she made a mad dash for it.

"My baby!"

Cindy smiled at her friend's obvious affection for the inanimate object. "Yeah, I couldn't really bring myself to get rid of it after—"

Max looked up at her, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. So she just shrugged. "Thanks, boo."

"Just lookin out for my sistah," Cindy replied. She turned and headed off down the hallway. "Let me get out of these work clothes, and into something more Crash-worthy, and we can be on our way. That cool with you?"

Max nodded. "I'll wait out here." Once Cindy entered her room, Max decided to take a peek into her own. She opened the door, and was surprised to find that everything had been left exactly as she had left it. As though no one had been in the room since she'd last been there. She sat down on her unmade bed, and looked around. Her eyes stopped on the small catlike statue on her dresser. Slowly, she made her way over to it, and ran her fingers over it gingerly.

"Bast," she whispered. In her head, she could hear her own voice. Something distant, as though from a memory that wasn't quite sure it wanted to be remembered yet. _It's the Egyptian goddess Bast, the goddess who comprehends all goddesses, eye of Ra, protector, avenger, destroyer...giver of life who lives forever._

The knock on her door snapped her from her thoughts.

"You ready boo?" Cindy asked as she screwed the earring into her ear.

"Yeah," Max replied distractedly. "Yeah, I'm ready."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two friends strolled into Crash, and Max stopped to look around, taking in the familiar surroundings. She then followed Cindy up to a table where Sketchy and his squeeze for the night sat, having an interesting conversation no doubt.

Cindy walked right up to them, and knocked on the table. "Yo Sketch."

He looked up. "Oh hey, Original Cindy, this is—um—"

"Brenda," the girl reminded him, extending her hand to Cindy and giving her a warm smile.

"Original Cindy." Cindy introduced herself.

Max finally caught up with her friends.

"Max?!" Sketchy actually dropped his beer in his lap. And it was a few seconds before he was lucid enough to try to mop up his mess. "Where the hell have you been?" he asked her anxiously.

"Selling my soul for a job. Where the hell have you been?"

He gave her a cocky grin. "I've been around."

"Apparently," she responded, eyeing the girl next to him. Max and Cindy got some pitchers, sat down and joined the other two in talk of Normal and his rantings, and other such things that filled their daily lives. Sketchy was very interested in Max's whereabouts for the past few months, but decided to continue the conversation with her later on in private. Max smiled to herself as she finally felt comfortable for the first time in days. This was where she belonged. Out with her friends, hanging out and attempting to lead some semblance of a normal life.

A shrill ringing interrupted the atmosphere at that moment. Max frowned and pulled the phone out of her pocket.

"Hello?" she answered, though she already knew who it was. Only one person knew she even had the phone so far. That being the person who gave it to her.

"Hey," Logan's voice came through pretty clear despite the lack of reception the phone said she had.

"What's up?"

"Uh, I was wondering if you wanted to come back here and talk. I've kind of got a little surprise for you."

"Really?" Max's voice changed as she was intrigued. "What kind of surprise?"

"Well if I told you that, it wouldn't really be a surprise, now would it?"

The X5 narrowed her eyes though she knew he couldn't see it. "Fine, be there in twenty." She hung up without waiting for a response, and turned to her friends.

"Damn, boo," Cindy spoke before she could. "Your squeeze keeping you on a short leash."

"No," Max rolled her eyes. "And he's not my squeeze. But I do gotta roll. Catch you guys later." She nodded to them, and they departed ways. Max mounted her bike, and revved the engine, pulling her shades over her eyes. _This better be important Cale. If it isn't you're gonna have hell to pay._ With that, she rode off into the night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max picked the lock, and quietly entered the apartment. It seemed to be empty, until she found her way to the dining room. Logan had set up the table for dinner complete with candlelight all around the room. The sight took Max's breath away. It certainly wasn't what she'd expected. But then, where was Logan anyway?

"Hey," came a soft voice behind her.

She slowly turned to face him. Surprisingly, he was right behind her. He held out a rose for her, which she took.

"Happy 15 month Anniversary," he smiled at her.

Max's gaze was focused on the rose, it seemed each petal was softly dawned with fresh dew, and hung with just enough weight to keep the flower open in bloom, when it shined its brightest for a while. She finally looked up at him. "Any reason to celebrate, huh?"

"You better believe it." He pulled out the chair for her, and she sat down. Moments later, he set a plate before her.

"Pasta Tricolore…" she whispered, a memory aching to come from the back of her brain, but not quite there yet.

"You remember?" he asked.

"Kind of," she responded vaguely. "It's hard though. I've been remembering a lot of things. But there are gaps too, and that's the most frustrating thing."

"I know, Max. But I promised we'd get through this together, and we will."

She smiled at him, and turned her attention to the dinner. Once it was over, she moved to clear the table, half expecting him to stop her. But he didn't, and instead moved to the living room and turned on the CD player. Instantly, the soft tunes of _Valse Triste_ floated through the air.

Max froze in her spot. "This is the music…from the car," she finished uncertainly.

"Right, from the car." Logan had suspected that there was more to it than that, but didn't want to bring up any mind-boggling conversations at the moment. He was having enough trouble just getting Max to remember him to begin with. Anything she gave him was welcome with open arms. _Speaking of open arms…_ "May I have this dance?" He extended a hand to her, and after a moment of hesitation, she took it.

They circled the room slowly, each a million miles away. Max looked into Logan's eyes. The magnetic blue preventing her from looking elsewhere. It came then, the memory she'd awaited since she sat down to dinner.

_Flashback_

_They danced together, oblivious of the dreamworld which surrounded them._

_Logan__ felt her tense suddenly. "You okay?" he asked apprehensively._

_"Yeah," she assured him, "I'm just a little dizzy."_

_"Do you want to stop?"_

_"No," she protested, "don't let go."_

_"I won't."_

_She knew that he wouldn't, but she needed to hear it. "Promise?"_

_"I promise."_

_Suddenly, their heads were drawn together. She couldn't help when his name escaped her lips._

_"__Logan__…" it came out a soft whisper. Then everything went dark._

_Flashback ends_

They moved as if one, and suddenly, their heads were closer and closer.

"Logan…" she said his name as if to assure that he was really there, to assure that he was really hers. Closer and closer still.

This time, there was no dream to wake up from; there were no brothers and sisters to interrupt needing help; there were no meddling friends popping up from nowhere to tease them. There was just them. Him and her. And when the right time came, their lips met.

Max couldn't remember ever having felt so exhilarated in her life. It was as though Logan's kiss had set her soul on fire. Well, pending she had a soul. It seemed as though every neuron in her nervous system was firing continuously, stimulated or not. It was a dream, the best kind. The kind you didn't have to wake up from. _So this is what it's like to be in love? …awesome…_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Post: okay people. Sorry for the delay, but hey, got a happy ending to this chapter, right? I mean, I figured I'd give you one without so much of a cliff-hanger, since the hard wooden chairs are cutting indentations into the bottom of your legs. (how many times do I have to tell you, sitting on the edge of your seat isn't healthy?) Next installation up in a short while. BTW, does anybody know what Sketchy's last name is? I'm writing another fic already, and I don't necessarily need it, but it works well with the dialogue. Anybody know? Share the knowledge if you do!

Angie731


	12. Chapter 12: Reunited Realizations

Disclaimer: I own…an extra large Spongebob (with detachable Gary ;-)), a drum set, and $4.32 in pennies…but no Dark Angel, but hey, life's tough all over, right?

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Yeah, I've been a bad girl. Not updating and such. But a lot of stuff went down. I was in school, and then Halloween passed, and I had mid-terms, then Thanksgiving came and lost a friend to suicide, but hey, got a nice car. Then right before Christmas, I crashed it…and so therein lies my run of bad luck, therefore preventing me from giving in to my many fans (you do still love me right?) But now, it's a new year, and I'm starting off on the right foot…that is, I'm updating. Besides, the story's almost done, and I think I'll just post a new chapter every three to four days for the next week and a half, and then we'll be done, cuz I got a new story I wanna share. Sound good? Ok, let's get it started!

_I'm so in love with you, you set me free_

_I can't do this thing called life without you here with me_

_Cuz I'm dangerously in love with you, I'll never leave_

_Just keep lovin me, the way your love be lovin me_

_-'Dangerously in Love' Destiny's Child_

Chapter 12

Reunited Realizations

_So this is what it's like to be in love? …awesome…_

It came then, the sudden rush of memories that Max had been waiting for the past few days. The voices floated in her head; there were streams of feelings and flashes of light that hit her like a ton of bricks. It washed over her, and her body stilled, as she concentrated on making sure that every memory returned in tact. Logan pulled away, slightly bewildered.

"Max, are you okay?"

She didn't respond, but kept her eyes closed. When she spoke, it was in a soft whisper.

"I remember…I remember everything."

Logan's heart nearly stopped. Had he heard what he thought he just heard? Was Max really back, all of her?

She opened her eyes and looked into his. Her mind drifted as she recalled what had happened to her. "I remember you…I remember Eyes Only, I remember it all. I tried to make myself forget, because Manticore wanted to know who you were. But I wouldn't tell them. Something must've happened, between the seizures and the medicines they were giving me, everything went haywire. Sometimes I would lose gaps of my memory, but then they would come back….I don't know, it was all just a blur." Her gaze dropped to the floor.

Logan swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. _I am so sick and tired of having people I care about get hurt because of Eyes Only…there has to be a way to stop this…_The only thing he could think to say was "Lydecker told me what they did to you."

Max pulled away from him at that. "That bastard did what?" Her eyes narrowed in anger, and she turned away from Logan, going to sit on the couch. Slowly, he followed, and sat next to her. Her consciousness once again floated, and she felt a sudden chill, and attempted to ward it off by wrapping her arms around herself. "It was terrible Logan. Every single day was a struggle. From the very night they trapped me there. And Zack…" her voice broke off.

Logan had forgotten about her older brother up until the present moment. Zack may not have been his favorite X5, but judging from Max's voice, Logan was sure he wouldn't have wished whatever had happened to him on his worst enemy. He felt his eyes water a little, and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, his voice was barely a whisper. "How did you get through it?"

She turned to look at him. "You." When his forehead narrowed in confusion, she tried to explain. "I thought of you. Every time they hit me, every time they hurt me, every time they touched me…" she closed her eyes momentarily against the memory. "I just thought of you. I wanted you to come save me; I waited for you. They knew it too. They kept telling me that you weren't coming, that you didn't care…and I never wanted to believe them, not for a second. But minutes turned into hours turned into days turned into weeks, and you never came."

"Max, I—"

"I just wanted to be with you. I just wanted to see your face…hear your voice…your laugh…your smile." She raised a hand to lay on the side of his face. "I missed you," she whispered.

Logan leaned into her palm. "Oh, Max, I missed you too." Max leaned into his shoulder, and immediately his arms enveloped her tiny waist. "I couldn't do anything for days after it happened. I couldn't eat; I couldn't sleep; I couldn't think. I felt like I lost my best friend. But then, I had this dream, and somehow, I just knew…my heart told me you were alive…waiting for me. After that, I searched for you everyday," he whispered into her hair. "Even when everyone else told me that you were already gone. I never believed it. When Lydecker told me what happened to you, I wanted to kill every single one of them for hurting you. I wanted to rip their hearts out the way they ripped out mine."

Max pulled away and looked up at him, but couldn't say anything.

"Never leave me again, Max," he ordered in a soft voice that came out as more of a plea.

"I won't," she replied reassuringly. "I promise I won't."

He leaned forward a little, needing to seal their deal the only way he knew how.

"Guess she remembered huh?" Syl's voice floated through the air toward them.

Neither Max nor Logan looked toward her, but rested their foreheads together.

"Hey Syl," Logan finally acknowledged her. "I see you got my invitation to join us. Thanks."

Krit, who stood beside her, cocked his head in confusion. "There was an invitation?"

Max smiled and looked at her siblings. "He was being sarcastic."

It was then that Syl's cell phone rang. She hit the button and brought it to her ear.

"Syl here."

Max turned to Logan and smiled. He started to say something, but suddenly, Max froze in her spot. A split second later, she grabbed him by the arms and threw the both of them to the floor, her body covering his own. No sooner had they hit the floor than a shower of bullets rained through the window, cutting through the furniture, the wall, and everything in its path. Stray pieces of glass from the shattered window flew around the room. Max was automatically in defense mode. Her top priority was making sure Logan was okay, but she couldn't even look up to see if her brother and sister were still alive. The stream of bullets continued destroying everything in its path, until Max decided they were safer on the move than staying in their present position.

"Ok, Logan, we gotta move, and we gotta move quick." He knew better than to try to talk her out of anything when she was in this state of mind, so he nodded shortly, and waited for her instructions. "When I say go, get to the door and out into the hallway. If I don't show after a minute, leave."

Logan started to dispute, but she put a finger to his lips. "I'll be okay."

A look of uncertainty crossed Logan's face. He had just gotten her back, the last thing he wanted was to lose her again, but his trust of her won out in the end, and he nodded.

"We need to meet somewhere…" her voice interrupted his thought process, and he snapped back to reality.

"My cabin," were the first words out of his mouth. "It's the only place close enough I can think of that they don't know about."

Max nodded. She wanted to say something semi-sentimental, being as how this might be the last time she saw him, but she couldn't find her voice. Logan understood, and raised his hand to stroke her cheek. Then the vase on the table next to them was shattered by gunshots, and the moment was broken.

"Go!" she hissed, "And stay low."

He took off for the door without another thought, and made his way toward freedom

_Good luck, __Logan_ Max turned away once she saw Logan make it to the door, and crept down the hallway, whispering her siblings' names.

"We're in here!" someone hissed from the guest room. It was then that the shooting stopped. Max cautiously made her way into the guest bedroom and shut the door behind her.

"Boy am I glad you guys are—," she turned to face her guests, but instead of seeing two familiar faces, all she saw were two semi-automatics pointed at her head. _Uh-oh._

The soldier who must've been the commanding officer stepped forward. "Surrender, 452. Come with us now, and no one else will be hurt."

Usually, Max's brain was flowing with a multitude of cynical comebacks that she was none too shy to annoy them with, but for once, her mind drew a blank and she was at a loss.

"We're thirty stories up…how the hell did you guys get in here?"

The CO smirked. "The same way you did…"

He didn't elaborate, and Max found she really didn't care. All that mattered was finding her brother and sister, and getting back to Logan. She'd promised him that she would never leave him again, and she'd be damned if she was going back on that promise.

"Come with us, 452." The steady monotonous voice broke into her thoughts.

"Yeah, you said that already," she replied. "But I think I'll pass. I'm not going back to Manticore; I've seriously worn out my welcome in that place." Without another word, she blurred over, and took out the soldiers without even breaking a sweat. She looked down at their unconscious bodies. "And my name is Max." That was the last thing she said before she felt the electricity of the tazers travel through her body, and everything went dark.

Logan sat outside his door. A minute had come and gone, and Max still hadn't shown up. He found that he had absolutely no willpower to simply leave her there. Why couldn't she just have gone with him? Together, they would have escaped, and if anything had happened to her siblings, well…they would have dealt. But they would have dealt together, alive. He heard several footsteps coming up his stairwell, and decided it was time to move. The fire exit seemed to be his only means of escape, and he took it, setting off a blaring signal to whoever may have been chasing him. He sincerely hoped, as he half-jumped half-slid down the numerous flights of stairs, that whoever was behind him wasn't genetically enhanced.

Syl watched the scene from her hiding place with growing interest. "Well Krit, can we do something _now_?"

He sighed. "If you insist." The two left their shadowy dwellings behind, and crept up on the group of soldiers that had surrounded Max's lifeless body.

Syl decided she'd had enough, and threw caution to the wind. She leapt out and landed a hard blow to the back of the head of the soldier nearest her. He fell to the ground and didn't get back up. But his three buddies quickly aimed their guns at her. "Aw come on fellas, what kind of welcoming committee are you?" she complained.

Krit decided to join in the fun, and together the two of them took out the remaining soldiers. Syl tilted her head toward the door, listening hard.

"They have troops coming up the stairs, they're about two floors down, we gotta get her outta here," she commanded. The other X5 nodded his agreement, picked up his sister's unconscious body, and the three headed toward the living room. "Through the skylight." She pulled one of Logan's coffee tables to just underneath it, and hopped on it before jumping, and catching the latch. It took a couple tries, but she finally got it, and held on tight as she pushed the hood open and climbed out onto the roof. It was then that they heard a loud alarm sound in the hallway. "Quick, hand her up."

Krit lifted Max onto the table, and shifted her still body up into Syl's waiting arms. She helped him up, and seconds later, he was out on the roof with her. She closed the door softly, just as a swarm of soldiers entered the apartment through the front door.

"That was close," he openly admitted, and when Syl didn't oppose, he knew she'd been afraid too. "So where do we go now?"

The petite blonde just shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know what happened to Logan. I hope he's okay. But we gotta get Max somewhere safe until she wakes up. Maybe she knows where he might've went."

"After you," Krit conceded, lifting Max once again. Together, they headed off into the darkness of Seattle.

Logan stood staring out the window into the darkness. Something was wrong. No one had shown up, and he had been at the cabin for over the past three hours. _Max would have at least called by now…_if_ she had gotten out. No, I can't think like that…maybe she's just not near a phone. Yeah, that must be it…what are you saying Cale? You're going out of your mind with worry. You don't even know if she's alive._ Logan took a deep breath to try to calm himself, and looked out the window for what must've been the eight hundredth time in the past hour, just in case she was out there, waiting for some sort of signal from him. As though the smoke billowing from the chimney wouldn't give her some inclining to the fact that someone had indeed taken up residency inside his cabin. Not that he'd be able to see her anyway. Max was invisible when she wanted to be, and even if she wasn't, it was pitch dark outside.

The thing that worried Logan most was that although Max hadn't given a play by play account of what had happened to her back at Manticore, he was pretty sure she wouldn't survive going back a third time. He wasn't even sure if she'd try. She had seemed beyond traumatized when she finally remembered everything, and Logan remembered getting the distinct feeling that she herself would rather die than go back for a repeat performance. He couldn't say that he blamed her.

Logan finally pulled himself away from the window, and took a seat on the sofa, facing the fire. The flames danced a soft waltz before him, and his eyes followed them closely. After a long moment, he buried his head in his hands, his imagination running wild with the thought of all the things that could have happened to her, and he sighed.

"Max, where are you?"

Max slowly came to, the ringing in her head becoming more and more distinct by the second. She opened her eyes to see clouds drifting by through the window. She groaned softly and sat up, looking around. It took her a moment to recognize the two people who sat in the front of the car.

"Guys?" she croaked.

Two heads whipped around to stare at her, and only the loud honk of an oncoming car took their attention from her. Syl swerved the car back onto the road.

"Whoa," Syl whispered. "Sorry about that, guys."

"Max are you okay?" Krit asked her.

Max rubbed at her temples, but nodded. "Yeah, just got a little headache that's all." She paused for a moment, looking out the window. "Um, whose car is this?"

Krit and Syl glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Don't know," her brother finally answered her. "Found it in the parking garage. We're just borrowing it."

"You're 'borrowing' someone's Lexus…?" Max wondered aloud. "Right. Where are we anyway?"

"Uh, somewhere outside Seattle."

Max took a moment to try to get her brain to catch up. It seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, and she was tired of being clueless. _Right…outside __Seattle__…because we're running from Manticore. That's right, they attacked us in __Logan__'s pent—oh my god. __Logan__! Where's __Logan_

"Guys, where's Logan?" she asked quickly.

Once again, her siblings glanced at each other. Then Krit turned around to face her.

"Don't look at me like that, Krit," she ordered. "Where is he?"

"We don't know, Max," he replied softly. "We haven't seen him since the penthouse."

Sheer terror seized Max's heart. "Did he at least get out okay?"

"I don't know," was the only response.

It seemed as though Max's headache grew ten times in intensity, and she nearly fainted from the incessant throbbing in the side of her head. "We have to go back."

"What?" Syl glanced in the mirror at her.

"We have to go back," her sister insisted. "I was supposed to meet up with Logan at his uncle's cabin. It's not that far from here."

"Max, we don't even know if he made it."

"Don't say that! He made it…I know he did. We have to go back." She leaned up between the seats to look at her sister. "Please."

Syl slowed the car to a standstill and looked over at her younger sister. "Okay," she concurred. "But even if he had to walk, he'd be there by now. So if he's not, we gotta hightail it outta town."

Max nodded and sat back in her seat, not bothering to mention that she had absolutely no plans of leaving Seattle, especially if Logan was missing. But she chose not to say anything, giving thanks to whatever deity that Syl had agreed to begin with. She sat back, and looked out the window as they made a u-turn and headed back towards the city.

_I've never believed in a God before, but if there is one…please, please let __Logan__ be okay…_

Max's mind was still racing a mile a minute when they finally pulled up outside the familiar wooden cabin. Her heart and her breath both seemed to be dueling with each other and her thoughts to see who could go faster. Syl had turned the lights out before they pulled into the driveway, not wanting to alert anyone inside, just in case they weren't in friendly territory.

"Max," she whispered. "Relax; you're gonna give yourself a heart attack. I'll go check it out, if I'm not back in three minutes, you guys leave."

"No," the youngest X5 quickly countered. "I'll go. I know the layout better." _And if he's not in there, I'm not going anywhere._

Her siblings nodded their approval, and she quietly got out of the car, closing the door behind her. She crept around the perimeter, checking to make sure everything was in order. _There's smoke coming from the chimney, that's a good sign at least._ With her heart in her throat, Max snuck in through a window. Her feet padded softly on the hard wooden floor, and she slipped into the living room. What she saw made her heart stop. Logan sat on his sofa, staring into the fire. It was quiet for what seemed to be a very long time, but had probably only been a minute or so. Then his voice broke the silence.

"Max, where are you?" He buried his head in his hands. It was more of a desperate plea than anything, and Max found she could no longer hold herself back.

"I'm right here," she responded.

In nanoseconds, he was on his feet facing her, and with speed that would counter any X5's, his arms were around her.

"Thank God," he whispered into her hair, "I thought I lost you."

"It's okay, Logan," she whispered back tightening her arms around him, "I'm right here."

"I waited for you, outside my apartment," he began, his words coming out in a senseless prattle, "but you didn't come, and then there were soldiers coming up the stairs, and I had to leave. I tried to wait for you; I didn't want to leave you…"

"I know," she replied, pulling out of the embrace and leaning her forehead against his. "I went looking for Krit and Syl and I thought I found them, but it was actually a TAC team waiting for me. They took me out with tazers…I don't really remember anything after that."

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"And Krit and Syl?"

"They're fine. Speaking of, they're out in the car waiting for me right now. I'll be right back." She started to pull away, but Logan's grip on her tightened. "I promise," she assured him, and it was only after that did he release her. She opened the front door and disappeared.

After about five minutes, she reappeared, closing the door softly behind her. He gave her an inquisitive look.

"They said they've got something to do. They'll be by later on to get me."

"To get you?" Logan questioned.

"Yeah, we're taking out Manticore once and for all."

Post: Ok guys, that's it for this chapter. Oh, and BTW, thanks to everyone for answering my question. I think I got it now ;-) Tap the little blue button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen and leave a review. Thank you.


	13. Chapter 13: Trouble in Paradise

Disclaimer: I thought I owned my brothers and sisters, but they have shown me the error of my ways…so I guess I don't own much of anything…

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Time-frame: post AJBAC

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter, as promised. I had planned on having this out a while ago, but stuff kept getting in the way. Sorry about that. The next one might not be for about a week. I really gotta sit down and figure out how they're gonna take Manticore down. 10 to 1 says I spend hours trying to figure it out, and then end up with some stupid solution anyway. Oh well, my muse will send me something. Giving up is not an option. Enjoy.

_I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave_

_Cuz your presence still lingers here; and it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal; this pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have all of me_

_You used to captivate me by your resonating light_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams_

_Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me_

_-'My Immortal' Evanescence_

Chapter 13

Trouble in Paradise

"Yeah, we're taking out Manticore once and for all."

_Did she just say what I think she just said?_ Logan wondered. "Max, do you remember what happened the last time you tried that?"

"Of course I remember, Logan," she said as she passed him, and headed towards the dining room table to take a seat. "I was there."

"So, what? You're just gonna go get caught again?" Logan approached her, and leaned against the table.

"Well, it's good to know that you have so much faith in me." The X5 looked him straight in the eye and caught a mixture of feelings.

"Max, my argument isn't rooted in my lack of faith for you, it's rooted in this petrifying fear that I have of losing you again. Do you have any idea what it was like thinking that I would never see you again? Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

"Logan, don't you think I had the same fears?" Surprisingly, he didn't answer, and instead turned away and stood in front of the fire. "Newsflash, I did. Every single day. I'm doing this for you…for us. Manticore is the cause of our problems. I'm trying to get rid of it. Why are you fighting me on this?"

"Because we've been here before! We've done this before, and it nearly got the both of us killed."

"So your suggestion is that I just sit back and wait for them to come seek me out?" Max's eyes narrowed at him, and for a second, the primal look in her eye almost made Logan afraid of her.

"That's not what I'm saying," he sighed in irritation. "But at least let me help you. If not hands on, then as Eyes Only. I could make a broadcast—", he suggested.

"Forget it," Max interjected. "Manticore will just use it to further track you down. It's too dangerous."

"I know that Manticore is dangerous—" he began.

"Do you?" she cut him off. "Do you know how dangerous they are? Because I could tell you. I've spent years there. I've been trapped and held prisoner there. I've been beaten, and tortured, and…" Max's voice trailed off. She still had a lot of trouble admitting everything that had happened while she was there.

Logan looked up at her, his heart breaking for her. But he couldn't understand why she didn't see where he was coming from. The X5s had been running for the past ten years, and while he understood why they were tired of running, he couldn't understand why she wouldn't let him help. "Max, I want Manticore gone just as much as you do. They took my heart away from me for three months."

Upon hearing this, Max looked into his eyes. _His heart? Does he mean…? But no. He could get hurt. Manticore already has a personal vendetta against Eyes Only. If they find out it's him, I could lose him forever._ "They took mine too, Logan, literally. But you are Eyes Only. If Manticore catches you, they will do things to you…terrible …horrible…things." She couldn't even begin to imagine Logan suffering through the types of things she'd had to suffer through when she was there. Especially knowing that for him, they would make it ten times worse.

"I won't get caught." His voice was unwavering. He hoped it sounded confident, and didn't betray the hammering of his heart.

Max threw her hands up in the air. "Unbelievable!" she seethed. "You haven't heard one word I've said. They don't care about you, or me, or us, or anything we have. They will find you, and they will take you down. Didn't you see what happened at your apartment? They either know where you live, or they found us X5s again, neither of which would surprise me. They raised us on the motto: 'by any means possible', and that's exactly how they'll take you down. I'm tired of having the people I care about be hurt because of them. Don't you understand?" She paused and gave emphasis on each word that followed. "Manticore. Will. Kill. You."

"Well, it's a good thing I take an existential point of view that life and death are solely subjective states of being," was his only response.

Max's heart clenched. How could he say such a thing? Fine, if he wanted to be cold and heartless, she could play that game. "That's not what you were saying three months ago," she said coolly.

Logan's face fell instantly. "That's not funny, Max," he breathed.

"Well, at least we agree on something," she replied, refusing to back down. She continued on, allowing her anger to take her over, all repression of emotions forgotten. "What happened to you while I was gone? Did you grow a death wish? You're not invincible. You know Logan, your innocent and at times amusing naivety has quickly escalated into negligent and downright hazardous gullibility. And it's making it very difficult for me to tell you that I love you."

Before Logan could even register what she'd just said, his own mouth was open, and words were coming out. "Well that's ridiculous, because your stubborn and relentlessly attitudinal paranoia isn't stopping me from telling you that I love you."

Max froze at that. _Did he just say what I think he just said?...He's just trying to throw me off. Well, it's not gonna work. _"Logan…" she began exasperatedly.

"Max, I'm gonna help you, like it or not. I've made my choice," he stated harshly.

"And it's the wrong one damn it!" She slammed her fist down on the table, hoping to emphasize her point, but the only thing she succeeded in doing was startling Logan, whom she found staring at her as though he'd never seen her before.

He crossed the room to the love seat and sat slowly, burying his head in his hands, as though seriously contemplating the situation, and it was a long moment before he could finally lift his head to look at her. When he spoke, his voice was barely audible.

"But I choose you, Max. How can that be wrong?"

The soldier's features softened considerably, and she waited for a minute before approaching him and kneeling before him. He looked away, but she took his chin in her hand, and tilted his head to look her in the eye.

"Please…" she begged. Max hated to beg. It took a lot to make an X5 beg. They were taught that it was beneath them. Something that desperate ordinaries did. If they were to ask for something and were denied, they either took it by force, or seceded to their superiors. Begging was simply out of the question. But now, the situation called for it, and Logan's heart shattered at the sheer desperation in her voice. Max's eyes nearly filled with tears at the mere thought of what Manticore would do to him if they ever got a hold of him. Her hand, seemingly of its own accord began to stroke his face, the stubble of his cheek giving her an odd comfort she'd never felt before.

Logan took a deep breath and surrendered to her touch before he spoke.

"Okay." He felt as though he had signed both their death warrants with that one little word, and it weighed heavily on his heart, but he had never heard Max plead for anything the way she was pleading for this. He would give everything he owned to get that look out of her eyes.

Max knew how hard it was for him to give into her and she appreciated that he'd finally agreed with her. They both had innately stubborn personalities, and she knew mixing that with his insatiable sense of pride made Eyes Only a nearly immovable figure.

"Need I remind you that the last two times we tried to take Manticore down, we failed. Not only that, but we nearly all got killed."

"Third time's the charm. Besides, this time you'll have something you didn't have last time."

Logan gave her an inquisitive look.

"Me," she responded in turn.

Logan sighed. There was no use arguing with her, she wasn't going to give in. "I'm sorry, Max. I just thought that maybe things would be different…you know, now that I'm up on my feet and…"

"It was never about that Logan," she said softly, "you know that."

"I know, Max. When are they coming to get you?"

"Before dawn."

_But that's in a few hours…_Logan swallowed hard. "That soon, huh?"

"That soon," she sighed. "So what do we do now?" she asked, a slight twinkle in her eye.

"It's late. Lay with me, Max," he whispered. He stood, and began to spread ash over the flames of the fire to make it die down.

She nodded, almost invisibly, only slightly surprised that he hadn't asked for more, and followed him to the bedroom in the back, and climbed into bed. Logan waited only a moment before he joined her, spooning his body behind hers, and she scooted closer, seeking his warmth and comfort. He snaked an arm around her waist and she interlocked her fingers with his own. They lay that way for long moments, neither one able to sleep, though they were both trying hard. Finally, she brought his hand up to her lips and kissed his fingers softly.

"I love you, too," she whispered, unable to forget his earlier declarations, and then, exhausted by the days efforts, drifted into a restless sleep. Had she stayed awake, a few moments later, she would have heard him crying softly behind her.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Renfro paced in front of the line of soldiers that stood at attention before her.

"So let me get this straight." Her voice was very low. Something that scared them even more than her yelling. "You don't have Eyes Only. You don't have 452, and you have no idea where Donald Lydecker is?" It hit her that, ironically, she sounded exactly like her bosses from the committee, and she smiled inwardly.

The commanding officer stepped forward. "Ma'am, the extenuating circumstances prevented—"

"Your ineptitude," she cut him off, "is only short of remarkable." Slowly, she approached her desk and sat down. "Can I count on no one in this company for a little help? All I asked you to do was recapture someone we already had in our grasp, who would have never gotten away had it not been for your incompetence."

"Ma'am, we had her in our possession. But she was not alone. She had two other X5s with her."

Renfro sat up straight. "The ones from the previous break-in?"

"We believe so, ma'am."

"Interesting." The director paused for a moment, seemingly thinking over this information. "Three X5s are better than one. I better make a call. Head to your barracks. I'll call when I need you. Dismissed."

The soldiers saluted her and left the room.

Renfro picked up the phone on her desk and smiled wickedly. "Get me Pyre." She paused as she listened to the response on the other end of the line. "I don't care if he's in a meeting with God himself. I want him on the phone, yesterday!" She turned in her chair to look at the picture of X5-452 that donned her wall. _You're going down, 452. And nothing and no one is gonna stop me._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Max opened her eyes, but instead of the familiar surroundings of Logan's cabin, she saw drab gray walls. _Gray…looks a lot like…Manticore!_ She tried to sit up, but found her arms and legs were bound tightly to the cot on which she had slept. _No no no, I can't be here…I can't be back…__Logan__ rescued me…he came and got me. I've been out for days…how did I end up back here?_ Before she could even begin to postulate possibilities, the door to her room opened and in walked the person Max hated more than anything else in the world.

"Welcome back, 452." Renfro's ice cold eyes showed a mere glimmer of amusement, and Max despised her all the more for it. "The committee's been on my tail about your recapture and the eradication of Eyes Only. So far, I'm 2 for 2."

_The eradication of Eyes Only…_ "What are you talking about?" Max spat at her.

The director turned to the television that was mounted in the corner across the room. She pointed the control in her hand at it, and the TV came to life. On the screen, was an obviously previously recorded video of Logan, sitting in a chair, his hands tied behind him. Max could clearly see the river of crimson that flowed from the cuts on the side of his head and the corner of his lip.

_Logan_ "What is he doing here?" Max asked, unable to take her eyes from the screen.

"He's helping us," Renfro answered unceremoniously. "Or…he _was._"

Max's attention snapped to the director upon her previous statement. But the older woman simply pointed her remote at the television, and fast forwarded a few minutes. Max could see Logan being beaten more and more, and nausea welled up in her, so that she had to turn her gaze from the screen. Then the tape slowed down, and played at a normal pace.

A soldier stepped into view of the camera. "For the last time," he spoke to Logan's near lifeless body, "what is the location of the other X5s?"

Max glared at the woman before her. "What the hell? He doesn't know where they are!"

Renfro simply smiled. "That's what he said."

Logan raised his one eye to look at his offender. The other had been swollen shut. "I already told you, I don't know."

Without a second thought, the soldier who questioned him raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Before Max could even register what had happened, Logan's head fell limp, blood oozing from the hole in his chest.

Her surroundings changed, and the X5 found herself kneeling on the floor beside him in a turn of events that sardonically reminded her of a situation she'd been in just three months before.

"Oh no," she whimpered. "Logan?" she shifted his body up against her, unable to keep the tears from falling. "Come on, come on. Damn it, don't do this to me! Don't give up on me," she pleaded. Her fingers felt frantically for his various arteries, searching for a pulse, any sign that he might still be alive, but there was none. His warm blood was sticky on her hands, and it made her stomach lurch. Max tried to scream for help, but she couldn't. Her voice wasn't working the way she wanted it to, and there was no one around. No one to help them.

Logan woke to Max screaming and thrashing wildly beside him.

"Max! Max!" He shook her by the shoulders. "Wake up!"

She sat straight up in bed. "Logan! No!" Her eyes flew open, and she looked around hysterically. It was a minute before she could focus and be able to tell that Logan was right in front of her. As soon as she realized it was him, her arms went around him. She couldn't stop the sobs that wracked her body.

"It's okay, Max," he hushed her. "It's okay; it was only a dream. It's all over now." He held her tightly, rubbing circles in her back. It was a long time before her cries calmed and her tears stopped, and Logan felt completely helpless. What was it that had her shaken up so badly?

Max found she couldn't even speak to tell him what had happened to her. The soldier deep inside berated her for acting so infantile. She'd had bad dreams before. Of course, nothing had scared her as badly as this one had. Still, she wasn't raised to be so vulnerable, and the whole situation made her nervous. It was a moment before she realized Logan was speaking to her again.

"Max? Are you okay?"

In response, she nodded, still not trusting herself to talk, and released him enough to look him in the eye. He used his thumb to wipe some of the tears from her cheek.

"I guess you don't want to go back to sleep though, huh?"

At that, she shook her head, and rested it back in place on his shoulder. "Well, okay," he started, unsure of what to suggest. "Why don't we just go sit out in the living room? Sound good?"

Max nodded again. Logan lifted her out of the bed, and carried her out to the living room, a little shaky himself. He wasn't used to Max being to so quiet. She hadn't spoken a word since she woke up screaming, and while Logan could understand that she was scared—correction, terrified—he couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to discuss it with him. She was getting ready to go off into battle…the least she could do was level with him. Maybe that was it. Maybe she was scared stiff of going back to the one place that had single-handedly managed to make her life a living hell. And Logan of all people knew that talking about a predetermined situation of which you were anxious to begin with only caused the anxiety level to rise. But then, she'd yelled his name…which still threw him off. What had she dreamed about him that had caused her to wake up in such a blind panic? The thought seared through the journalist's head as he made his way to the sofa in the living room, with Max still clutching him for dear life. He sat her on the couch, and began to back away, but she clung to his shirt.

"I'm just gonna start the fire back up," he assured her. She let him go, and he knelt by the fireplace, and began to rekindle the flame. When the fire commenced engulfing the logs, he sat back on the couch next to Max.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Max stared off into the undulating flames of the blaze. The images of her dream danced before her eyes, and she knew they would forever be ingrained in her memory. But she gave no notice of what she felt to Logan, and instead nodded, and leaned her head on his chest, her hand over his heart.

Logan was a little taken aback when she did that, but he put his arm around her shoulders to offer comfort and didn't say anything. Together, they sat, gazing into the fireplace, watching the flames, both lost in their own thoughts. And then he heard her.

"Tell me a story, Logan." Her voice was fragile, delicate even. And if it hadn't been completely silent in the cabin, he didn't think he would have heard her.

"A story?" he asked, vaguely surprised. "What kind?" His voice was equally as soft, not wanting to invade on the serenity of the atmosphere.

He could feel her shrug. "Any kind. I just need to hear your voice," she admitted.

"Ok," he agreed. His hand went to her hair, and he began raking it softly with his fingers. Something like a small contented purr escaped her, and he smiled. _Must be that cat DNA…_"When I was younger, my mother used to take me to the circus. Every year we went. It was usually right at the beginning of the summer…"

Max listened intently, hanging on his every word. She paid close attention as he described his various trips down childhood memory lane. She even smiled when he felt open enough to tell her about the summer he'd finally tried the diving board at the deep end of the pool, and resurfaced without his swim trunks. His voice droned on, and the low humdrum of his heartbeat finally led her back into the subconscious.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Krit turned the handle, and, slowly and quietly, slid the door to the cabin open. He looked around, and seeing no one, waved Syl forward. The two of them crept into the silent cabin and rounded the corner. Syl smiled when she saw her two friends cuddled up on the couch fast asleep.

"Wake her," she ordered Krit.

"I don't want to," Krit protested. "Remember that time I had to wake Maxie for live ordinance drills one morning? She tried to shatter my jaw!"

Syl glared at him. "I said wake her, damn it!"

Krit sighed. _Guess I know who wears the pants in this relationship…_He approached the two sleeping people on the couch quietly. "Maxie?" he whispered, not wanting to startle her. "Maxie?" When she didn't stir, he dared go nearer, and reached out for her. The speed with which her fist jumped out and caught him in the face was like lightning. Immediately, he backed up, holding his cheek like a wounded puppy. Syl merely smiled.

"Oh, sorry Krit," Max apologized when she realized who it was. "Old habits die hard. You should've known better. Don't you remember that time back when—"

"Yeah, I remember," he muttered bitterly, casting a glare towards Syl.

Max looked up into Logan's still sleeping face, and slowly slid from beneath his arm rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He stirred a little at her absence, but didn't wake up. Max turned to her siblings. "Ok guys, what's the story?"

"First, you change into these." Syl held up clothes for her.

"Where did you get fatigues on such short notice?" Max questioned her.

"Uh, yeah, about that…we kind of have a contact, who's helping us out. He's in the car."

Max tensed visibly. "Who is it?"

"You'll just have to see when we get out there," Krit interrupted them. "Right now, we gotta make pace. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to my Xbox."

Max still had her doubts, but she trusted her brother and sister, so without another word, she turned and left for the bathroom.

"Your Xbox?" Syl fixed Krit with her gaze. "You still have that old piece of junk? What is it, vintage 2002?"

"Hey," he disputed, "it's a classic. The older the system, the better."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself," she rolled her eyes.

A moment later, Max emerged from the bathroom down the hall, and approached them. "It's weird to be back in these things," she remarked, straightening out her sleeves.

"Yeah, I know," Syl smiled at her, "Manticore had absolutely no style."

"Well actually, they've graduated to urban camo. I'd say it's a step in the right direction. The black and white blend so well with the already gray walls."

The two sisters grinned at each other, trying to ease the apprehension they both knew the other felt as they always did before an important mission. Max looked down at Logan, before turning to her sibs.

"Should I wake him?"

Syl seemed to think on it for a moment before answering. "I don't think so. If you wake him, we'll never get out of here."

Max nodded reluctantly, understanding her reasons for saying what she had. If she woke Logan, he would look at her, with that look in his eyes…the smoldering one that said he was terrified for her, but that he trusted her decisions, and all he wanted was for her to come back to him. One of those looks from him, and Max knew she'd never leave that cabin. So she knelt before him, and threaded her fingers in his hair. _This look is so not him…I'm gonna have to take him to a barber the minute I get back._ She smiled at that thought, trying carefully not to wake him.

"We haven't really had time to be alone or together or alone together," she spoke softly to him. "But all that's gonna change. When I get back, we're gonna start our lives over the right way. I promise."

"Max, we kinda gotta hit the road," her brother pressed her gently.

She gave a him quick nod before turning back to Logan. "You're in my heart," she whispered, using her thumb to lightly caress the stubble of his cheek. Max gently planted a kiss on his forehead before straightening up, and turning to look at her siblings. The look in her eyes was cold and desolate, the perfect soldier's mask. "Ok guys, this is Search and Destroy like you've never seen it. Are you ready?" She looked at each of them in turn.

Syl nodded firmly.

"I'm ready, Max," Krit confirmed.

"Good. Let's move out."

Post: This chapter is dedicated to all of my reviewers. You guys are awesome, and without you, no reason to write. And I am just so ecstatic that I can make someone's day just by throwing my imagination out there. Try not to spend too much time on the edge of your seat. Two more chapters to go, and all done. Stick with me.


	14. Chapter 14: Wannabes and Uncertainties

Disclaimer: In a past life, I claimed this show as my own, and I was drawn and quartered…at least, that's what my therapist tells me…

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence

Timeframe: Post AJBAC

A/N: Okay guys. Here's the next installment. I got tired of being predictable, so there's a couple surprises…or maybe you won't be as surprised, who knows? And there's some predictability of course. Doesn't matter. I can hear 'Max and Logan get over the odds together and live happily ever after' in fifty different languages, and still not get tired of it. Anybody else agree? Maybe not, maybe all I'm getting is tomatoes and flames, so I can make some homemade pasta sauce :-)

_I'm sinkin slowly, so hurry hold me_

_Your hand is all I have to keep me hangin on_

_Please can you tell me, so I can finally see_

_Where you go when you're gone_

_If you want to I can save you_

_I can take you away from here_

_So lonely inside, so busy out there_

_And all you wanted was somebody who cares_

_-'All You Wanted' Michelle Branch_

Chapter 14

Wannabes and Uncertainties

Max filed out of the cabin after her brother and sister, telling herself that Logan would be fine until she got back, and not daring to look behind her. Approaching the stolen car from earlier, she noticed a figure in the front seat, but it was too dark for her to tell who it was. She had forgotten that Syl and Krit had supposedly gotten in touch with a contact, and her mind wondered who it was. When they got to the car, Syl automatically went to the driver's seat, which Krit palpably protested, but silenced at one look from her, and he and Max climbed into the back. Their guest turned around to face them.

"Max," he greeted her without a smile on his face.

Max's heart froze, and her gaze turned steely cold. "Daddy dearest," she seethed.

She could've sworn the corner of Lydecker's mouth turned up a little. "Now is that any way to talk to the man who saved your life?"

The burning rage flared up in her. "Saved my life?!" she spat at him incredulously. "You tortured me everyday for two months!"

"I did what I had to do to keep you alive," he protested calmly. "It may not seem that way, but if you think about it, you'll realize that if you were in the same position, you would've done the same thing."

"Whatever." Max wanted to choke him right about then, but Syl interrupted them.

"Max it's okay. Lydecker was the one who called me back while we were at the penthouse. He warned us that Manticore had sent a TAC team to take us out."

Max was silent, digesting every word her sister had said.

"Where to first?" Syl asked. Max knew she was only trying to prevent World War 3.

"We gotta stop by the penthouse. Maybe whoever tried to get rid of us is still there."

"You got it," her sister replied, and turned the car in the direction of their destination.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had climbed over the horizon some time ago when they finally reached Fogle Towers, and Max wondered what Logan was doing at that time. She and Syl stepped off the elevator, and down the hallway toward the penthouse door. When they reached the apartment, they found the door cracked a few inches. Max hadn't been exactly awake when they made their escape, but based on accounts that she'd heard from her siblings, the door hadn't been left open. She tensed immediately, listening for sounds from the inside. She soon found that whoever it was obviously didn't mind being found, because they weren't being very quiet. She could hear them moving around, stepping on shards of glass. Quietly, she motioned her sister in with her, and together, they snuck into the house. Max peeked around the corner to see a young blonde girl standing in the middle of the room looking around. She tensed, wondering who it was.

"Oh, it's just her," Syl whispered. Max gave her a confused look before the two X5s stepped into plain view.

"Can we help you?" Max asked with a hand on her hip.

The girl spun around automatically to face the others. Syl raised an eyebrow as a memory flashed through her head.

(flashback)

_Syl sat up. "Who the hell are you?" she asked._

_The young girl cocked her head to the side and placed a hand on her hip. "I think I reserve the right to ask that question."_

_Syl scoffed. "Not if I asked it first."_

_Her eyes narrowed at Syl. "Name's Asha. I work for __Logan__. And you are…?"_

_Syl paused before straightening up. "Syl," she answered simply._

(end flashback)

"Logan's friend, Asha," Syl addressed her in a monotonous voice.

"The one and only," Asha replied stonily. "And you would be…Logan's _alleged_ girlfriend's sister, Syl."

"In the flesh," Syl countered.

Max, however, glowered at the girl. _'Alleged'? Who the hell does she think she is?_ "Well, whoever you are, Logan's not in right now, obviously. But I'll let him know that you dropped by."

"Wait a minute, what the hell happened here?" Asha questioned them. "When I left here two days ago, this apartment was in tact."

"Yeah, well a lot can happen in two days," Syl said.

Asha's fixed them with a heated glare. "Where's Logan?"

"He's safe," Max replied, glad to have the advantage of knowing where he was and the option of not giving away said information to this girl.

"Safe where?"

"Away from danger…can I ask what exactly it is that you're doing here anyway?" Max was getting tired of this girl with her superiority complex.

Asha wasn't easily intimidated, and she ignored the question and refused to cower under Max's angry stare. "Right. Away from danger…as long as he's around you, he's in nothing _but_ danger. I know what you are," she continued, "and I know who's looking for you. The same people who did this." She motioned to the catastrophe that used to be the living room of Logan's penthouse apartment. "Logan has been hunting and searching and doing everything in his power to take them down since the day you left. You can't honestly tell me that you think that he's safe wherever he is. If they found you here, they'll find him there, and when they do, I'm sure you already know it won't be pretty. Then again, being what you are, you probably won't even care."

Max had her pinned on the wall before she could even blink. She loved how Asha had said 'since the day you left', like she'd purposely gone out and gotten shot and killed.

"Max!" Syl tried to talk her down, but Max ignored her.

"You wanna throw down, Barbie?" she hissed at her, her own face inches from the other girl's.

Asha simply smiled at her. "Temper, temper," she taunted the X5 her voice coming out in short gasps due to the pressure on her trachea. "I'm a lover not a fighter unless absolutely necessary. I came to talk to Logan about something."

Syl managed to pry Max's forearm from its position before she crushed the young girl's windpipe. "Well we'll give him the message," Syl glared at her. "Now I suggest you get out of here before the people who did this come back and finish the job."

Asha gave them a harsh look, rubbing the tender spot on her neck, before turning and leaving without saying another word.

Max felt like her blood was boiling. "Who does she think she is to be analyzing my relationship with Logan?!" Max fumed.

"Asha—" Syl cut her off, but her sister wouldn't give her the chance.

"—doesn't know anything about us! She doesn't know anything about _me_!"

"Well, maybe she—"

"—had the unmitigated audacity to stroll up in here like she owns the place, and start throwing blame around. How dare she?"

Syl gave up. "Well, obviously you've got her number."

"And Ima dial it up, 1 800 style."

Syl cracked a smile at that. "Yeah, now really isn't the time for all this."

"Gee, what makes you say that?" Max asked sarcastically.

Before answering and without looking, Syl quickly drew a knife from the strap on her ankle, and with a quick snap of her wrist, embedded it in the neck of the soldier who stood quietly in the corner of the room. He fell to his knees before slumping over on the floor, blood spewing from the handle of the dagger.

"That does," she answered her sister.

Max nodded. "I see your point. Let's get back to the guys before Krit disembodies Lydecker." With that, the two sisters turned and left the empty apartment.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they got to the car, they found Krit standing outside leaning up against the front hood.

"Couldn't stand staying locked up with him?" his sister taunted him.

"You've experienced him first-hand for the past coupla months, Maxie. How can you even ask that?"

Max shrugged. "We had one guy up in the apartment."

"Yeah," Syl corroborated, "and one bitch."

Krit knitted his eyebrows.

"Never mind," Max interrupted. "So do you guys have a plan or what?"

"Actually yeah," Krit replied. "I had a chat with our good friend, Donald. Seems he's got a man on the inside. Some kinda lab tech."

"How do we know we can trust him?" Max was skeptical. Several scenarios of betrayal ran through her head, and none of them ended up with her alive.

"We don't, but it's all we got to go on for now." Krit's voice was serious, as though he had taken some time to try to convince himself of the very same thing.

"Ok, guys. Let's pile it in, and move it out." Max put herself in charge. She felt that although all the X5s had a beef with Manticore, hers was completely and totally personal. She'd been held prisoner in that place not once, but twice, and they were due for their payback. This mission wasn't just for her, but also for Eva, Tinga, Ben, Brin, Jackand everyone else who'd had their lives taken away or basically destroyed by Manticore. This had to be it, this had to be the end, and Max refused to go down without seeing Manticore go down first.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late afternoon when the van pulled up to the gate outside the Manticore complex. Max was nervous. Her brother and sister had explained what the plan was on their way there, taking the entire time to iron out details up until the very last moment. It made her even more anxious that the back-up plan was to get the hell out. In her experience, missions like this had more than often gone askew, and they really needed a contingency plan, but there was none. It didn't matter. If they were caught, they wouldn't be given the chance to escape and start over again.

The three X5s sat in the back of the van, their wrists and ankles bound. Lydecker pulled up to the window, and spoke with the guard there for a moment before the gate was opened. As they pulled off, Max could hear him notifying the director that 'Deck was on the way'. She hoped this would work.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Logan awoke sometime much later to the warm rays of the infrequent Seattle sun shining on his face. His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he noticed was the absence of the dark-haired beauty who had been beside him the night before. He sat straight up and fixed his glasses on his nose before looking around. Everything had been as it was the night before, except that Max wasn't there.

He stood, and walked through the cabin, calling her name, hoping against hope that just maybe she didn't go. _Well, she might not be here, but maybe she went for a run or something. Yeah, she doesn't sleep that much, maybe she got bored and needed to burn off some energy._ He went and stood staring at the window, expecting her to appear over the hill or from around the corner of the driveway.

It was several hours later that he realized that she wasn't coming back. She'd left. Went to battle her living nightmare to the death. It was then that how good the chances were of her never returning became apparent to Logan. He leaned his forehead against the cool pane of glass. All the while one thought piercing his consciousness. _Why didn't she wake me up?..._

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max lay on the ground in the dark cell, listening to the water dripping from the pipes. She had been laying there for hours. _How the hell did I end up back here?_ She wondered. It seemed like only last week she had managed to escape from this place, not by her own doings of course. _Oh wait; it _**was**_ only last week…_ She struggled with the handcuffs on her wrists, but was unable to catch the lock. Her brother and sister had been taken to separate cells, the location of which she was unaware. _Deck double-crossed us. Why should I be surprised? He said he'd make sure we got out of these stupid cuffs. They weren't supposed to be X5-proof._ Her mind soon drifted to Logan, and she nearly cried. _I'm sorry __Logan__…I tried, but I guess it just wasn't good enough._

Just when she had started to lose hope, the lock on the door of her cell turned and clicked. Max sat straight up, preparing herself for the worst. The door opened and in walked a man in a white lab coat.

"452, I presume," he said coldly.

She glared at him. "When are you people going to get it right? My name is Max."

Then to her surprise, he laughed heartily, before brandishing an iron chain with a key on it. "Deck said you'd be the most petulant of the three."

Max was confused. "Who the hell are you?" she asked defensively.

He paused for a moment before bending down and turning the key in the lock of the cuffs on her ankles.

"I'm Lydecker's contact, Victor," he replied, before standing and pulling her to her feet by her shoulders. He turned her around and released the lock on her wrists.

Max rubbed them, attempting to get rid of the black and blue marks which had begun to form, and turned to face him, before narrowing her eyes.

"Jace's Victor?" she questioned.

Immediately the man's face showed surprise and wonder. "You know Jace? Where is she? How is she? What happened?" He couldn't seem to get the questions out quick enough.

"She's fine," Max answered him. "And if we make it out of this, I'll give you her whole life's story, but right now, I'm on a mission and I don't have a lot of time."

"Right," he nodded, his head back in the game. "I've got the keys to the other cells; the ones holding your brother and sister. Do you wanna let them out, or should I?"

Max seemed to think on that for a moment. "I've got somethin I gotta do first. You let them out. Tell them I'll meet them at the designated spot in five."

He nodded his comprehension, and the two headed off in opposite directions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Renfro smiled at the man before her. "I must say Deck, I thought you lacked the intellectual capacity to pull a stunt like this off." As she spoke, she edged slowly towards her desk.

Lydecker held the gun level, his aim on her secure. He wasn't taking any chances. She had killed Tinga, for whatever sick twisted reason. He couldn't let her get away with that. No one got away with murdering his kids. No one.

"Yeah, well it doesn't really matter what you think now does it? You've corrupted this whole program from the moment you got here. It's done nothing but go downhill. Then, you had the effrontery to murder one of my kids, you selfish heartless bitch." The former director spoke in a tranquil voice, as though he had rehearsed this in his head a million times.

It didn't faze her. "'Your kids'?" she mocked him. "Got a little attached did we, Donald? This was an experimental project at best from the very start, and you knew that. But you let it go to your head. That's the whole reason behind my being brought in. I was following orders. Which came directly from the head of the committee I'm sure you already know."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'll take this all the way to the president if I have to. Everyone who even had anything to do with my kid's death is going down. I'll make sure of it." Before Renfro could blink, he fired two rounds into her chest. The look on her face as she slid down the wall was nothing short of grim determination.

The colonel swallowed hard before turning around, directly into the pathway of a uniformed guard. Immediately the soldier's finger went to his trigger, and the gun went off. Lydecker had been too stunned to move.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max looked up from her position on the floor to the man she had feared her whole life. The guard hadn't even seen her coming. Split seconds before the gun went off, she had managed to wrestle him to the floor, knocking his skull against the corner of the desk was an undetermined bonus.

"Are you hit?" she inquired in a voice that said that she really didn't care one way or another, but felt obligated to ask.

Her voice pulled him out of his stupor. "No. No, I'm okay." He was silent as she picked herself up off the ground, kicking the soldier in disgust. "Max…you saved me."

"Yeah," she muttered audibly. "Now we're even. The next time I can guarantee you won't be so lucky."

Lydecker nodded, as though he hadn't expected anything less from her, and the two left the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They found Krit, Syl, and Victor waiting just outside the door to the control center.

"Max," Syl spoke when they finally arrived. "We've been waiting forever. Where the hell have you been?"

"Settling old scores," was her vague reply as she glanced at the colonel. She motioned to him to input the code to open the door, which they all prayed hadn't been changed. He stepped forward, and pressed a series of button, and after a few seconds in which they all held their breath, the small blinking red light turned green, and the door slid open. The X5s quickly disposed of the two soldiers inside, and Lydecker inserted the disk he carried into the system. They all watched the screen anxiously, and within moments, the information began to disappear.

The colonel stood from his seat in front of the computer. "Move out," he stated simply.

"Don't we have to take the disc with us," Victor asked. "If they find it, won't they somehow be able to track it back to you?"

"No," Deck replied, "the virus is self-destructive once it's done its job. Besides, there won't be enough left of this place to even save the computer when we're finished. Now let's move out."

The five of them left, and Max stopped once they hit the corner.

"We've gotta let them out, if we don't they'll burn when this place goes down." She didn't wait for any acknowledgement that anyone agreed with her, and instead turned toward the barracks. She barely even noticed her brother and sister following her closely behind. She rounded the corner and ran headfirst into a soldier. She looked up into his face and had to hold back a smirk.

"Alec?"

"Max?" he asked equally surprised. "What the hell is going on?"

"Home sweet hellhole's goin down. You can either help or get out the way," she replied in a tone that said she didn't have time for pleasantries. He didn't reply, so she pushed right by him, and kept going. Turning the next corner, she found herself in the barracks. She stopped at the first door, and punched in a code. Miraculously, the door swung open, and Max was met with ten pairs of eyes from young soldiers who immediately stood at attention.

From some distant part of the building, they could hear explosives going off. The colonel must have succeeded in his part of the mission, and the X5s knew they wouldn't have much time.

"Get out!" she yelled at them. "Now, let's go, move! This place is burning down!" But the children simply looked at her with confused expressions on their faces.

"Max," she heard the voice of her brother from behind her. "You're an X5. Just pull rank."

"Right," she nodded at him, before turning back to the kids before her. "Soldiers!" she said in a strong voice. They instantly straightened up, looking straight ahead. "The base is under attack. Move out, stay with your unit and go to ground until you receive a signal to do otherwise. Dismissed!"

They saluted her, and ran out the door as though they finally understood that their lives were in danger. Max turned back to her brother and sister. "Krit, Syl," she addressed them, "we'll never make it, you guys gotta help me."

"We're on it, Max." Syl was already making her way down the hall to the next room, and Krit quickly followed suit. Max soon heard an explosion in the building somewhere near them, and she knew they were running on borrowed time. Smoke began to billow down the hallway, and they could see flames from just around the corner by the time the last room had been emptied.

All three were coughing as they made their way down the opposite hallway looking for a way out.

"What happened to Lydecker and Victor?" Max wondered.

"Don't know," Krit replied, "but hopefully they got out, cuz we have neither time to look for them, or wait for them."

They reached a stairwell, and found a window at the bottom of it. The flames so close to them that Max could feel the heat on her back. She took a running start at the window, and leapt through it feeling the glass slice her arm, and hoping that her brother and sister were close behind. _Wow…déjà vu…_she thought as she hit the ground. And the rest was darkness.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max awoke to the sound of a horn blaring loudly. And then her brother yelling, "Yeah, the same to you too dumb ass! I swear, some people drive like they bought their licenses at the bubble gum store."

She sat up, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in the side of her head.

"You see?" Syl said to Krit without looking at him. "Guys are aggressive drivers. I knew I should've taken the wheel." She turned in her seat. "Hey Max, how you feelin?"

"Fine. What happened?"

"You blacked out. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Max responded, sitting up straight and looking her sister in the eye. "Where're Lydecker and Victor?"

"We found them waiting outside Manticore. They're meeting us in Cheyenne. They took a separate car."

"Cheyenne?" Max was confused. "Why are we still in Wyoming? Aren't we going back to Seattle?" A little voice in the back of her head was beginning to shout irrational things at her. Things like 'she was never going back'; and she began to panic.

"No, baby sister," Krit replied. "It's too dangerous. We have to make sure Manticore really went down this time. Too many people saw our faces, and if there's any chance that the place is still up and running, they could be hunting us down right now. And I know what you're thinking, but if we go back now, we could be leading them straight to him."

Max sat back in her seat defeated. Couldn't argue with that logic. She stared out the window as one small tear made its way down her cheek. The realization had hit her that she wasn't out of the woods yet. She might never see Logan again, and that thought was more painful than any torture she'd ever endured. She leaned her forehead against the window, watching the dark trees pass her by. All the while one thought piercing her mind. _Why didn't I wake him up?..._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Post: Ok, therein lies the roller coaster ride for the longest chapter of the story. Had a couple cameos from your favorite characters Asha and Alec, cuz it just wouldn't be a story without them. Thank you all my reviewers, I can't express my gratitude for your thoughts enough. Ok, last chapter comin up soon like hopefully within a week or so.


End file.
